European shares up on technicals, Greek bond talks

European shares edged up on Thursday to trade just below a 5-1/2-month high, as investors awaited the outcome of talks between Greece and its private creditors to thrash out a bond swap deal, Reuters reported. At 0937 GMT, the FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares was up 0.2 percent at 1,036.95 points. Banks , up 2.4 percent, topped the gainers' list following encouraging results from Goldman Sachs on Wednesday. The FTSEurofirst 300 index's close above a key technical resistance level of 1,028 for two consecutive sessions has improved prospects for more gains towards 1,062, which is the 61.8 percent retracement of its February to September sell-off. It had made several failed attempts in the recent past to stay above 1,028, where its 200-day moving average, medium-term downtrend and previous intermediate highs all converged. The euro zone's blue-chip Euro STOXX 50 index also rose, up 0.4 percent to 2,399.63 points. He saw an upside target of 1,360 for the S&P 500 index and 2,481 for the Euro STOXX 50.