European shares, euro gain on optimism about ECB action

European shares pushed higher and the euro climbed above the 1.24-dollar mark Tuesday amid investor optimism that the European Central Bank (ECB) is preparing to launch an action plan to deal with the eurozone's long-running debt crisis, according to dpa. As the trading day ended, the blue-chip eurostoxx 50 had gained 1 per cent to 2,490 points with the euro also rising by 1 per cent to 1.2475 dollars. The eurozone's biggest share markets in Frankfurt and Paris were also in positive territory. In addition, the pressure eased on financial markets in debt-hit Italy and Spain as expectations rose that the ECB was gearing up to reactivate its government bond-buying program. While shares in Milan were up more than 2 per cent, stocks in Spain climbed by about 1 per cent. At the same time, the yield for Portuguese 10-year bonds stood at nearly 9 per cent, the lowest level since May 2011. Earlier this year, the yield had reached levels near 16 per cent.