European shares were higher at midday on Thursday, on track for a fourth day of gains, after European Union President Herman Van Rompuy said a deal had been reached on a rescue package for debt-stricken Greece.
At 1204 GMT the pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index was up 0.6 percent at 993.08 points. The index is down 5 percent this year after gaining nearly 26 percent in 2009.
The market got support following comments by Rompuy, who said that several key euro zone officials had reached a deal to help Greece in its debt crisis.
"The escalation of the tensions in EMU (European Monetary Union) and the uncertain prospect of a near-term and sustainable positive resolution of the underlying causes make a more cautious strategy appear advisable: capital preservation now has priority," UniCredit strategists said in a note.
UniCredit added: "A possible 'bridge loan' to Greece would bring relief in the short term (with a positive reaction on the equity market), but it can merely flank a solution of the real problems and is not the solution per se."
Commodity-related shares were among the major gainers, boosted by a mixture of earnings reports and a weaker dollar boosting oil and metals prices. Miners were in demand, with Rio Tinto up 3.9 percent after its second-half profit was well ahead of analysts' forecasts, thanks to $2.6 billion in cost cuts.
Firmer metal prices also boosted the sector after data showed a surge in employment in Australia and stronger-than-expected bank lending in China.
Anglo American, Antofagasta, BHP Billiton, Fresnillo and Xstrata were 3.2 to 3.8 percent higher.
Shares in Saipem rose 3.4 percent, building on gains in the previous session when the Italian oil services company reported profit above expectations, and after several broker upgrades.
ENI, which owns 43 percent of Saipem, rose 2 percent, ahead of results on Friday.
Total and Statoil were both up 2.5 percent after fourth-quarter results.
With crude oil rising above $75, other energy shares to gain included BG Group, BP and Royal Dutch Shell, up between and 1.2 and 2.2 percent.
Across Europe, the FTSE 100 index was up 0.8 percent, Germany's DAX rose 0.1 percent, France's CAC 40 gained 0.4 percent.
BANKS FALL
Banks gave up earlier gains, after a strong run this week.
Banco Santander, Deutsche Bank and Lloyds Banking Group were down between 2.7 and 3.3 percent.
Among individual companies, Diageo fell 2.9 percent after it posted underlying earnings for the half year to end-December of 44.2 pence a share, which was below a consensus of 46.2 pence.
BT Group lost 8.2 percent as a disagreement with the UK pensions regulator overshadowed third-quarter results, which came in towards the upper end of forecasts.
Alcatel-Lucent fell 7.5 percent after it missed revenue expectations, posted a wider than forecast loss and cut its 2010 operating margin target, buffeted by a tough market for telecommunications gear.
Air France-KLM fell 8.3 percent after the Franco-Dutch airlines group warned, after the market closed on Wednesday, of wider than expected losses for the current quarter.
Investors are expected to focus next on U.S. weekly jobless claims data due at 1330 GMT.
