Greek hopes lift European shares to one-week high

European shares hit their highest level in over a week on Monday as a glimmer of hope emerged for some progress on Greece's debt crisis after months of wrangling with international creditors. Blue-chip indexes in London, Paris and Frankfurt were all up between 1.4 and 2.8 per cent at 0752 GMT. The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index was up 1.9 per cent. The VSTOXX measure of European stock-market volatility slumped to its lowest level in 10 days. Greek stocks were up 6.8 per cent, with the local banking sector jumping 15 per cent. The top gainers of the day among European shares were telecom stocks, with Bouygues up 14.6 per cent after Monday's confirmation of a takeover bid from Altice via its Numericable-SFR subsidiary, which itself rose 14.5 per cent. British broadcaster Sky also gained after the Sunday Telegraph reported that the Murdoch family was said to have rebuffed two offers for its stake, according to Reuters.