European shares bounced back on Friday, with a recovery in metal and oil prices boosting commodities stocks and the ECB's bank funding plan continuing to support lenders in the euro zone periphery for a second day, Reuters reported. The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index was up 2 percent by 0910 GMT after falling 1.8 percent in the previous session. However, the index stayed on track for a weekly decline after gaining in the previous three straight weeks. The euro zone's Euro STOXX Banks index was up 4.8 percent after surging 8.5 percent on Thursday when the European Central Bank cut rates and said it would start buying corporate debt and even pay banks for lending to companies in the ailing euro area in a bid to kickstart growth. Lenders like Banco Popular and Bankia of Spain and Italy's UniCredit and Intesa Sanpaolo jumped 4.3 to 9.1 percent. Commodities-related stocks were also in demand after prices of metals and crude oil rose. The STOXX Europe 600 Basic Resources index gained 2 percent after prices of major industrial metals rose sharply. Glencore, Anglo American and Rio Tinto rose 2 to 3 percent. The European oil and gas index also advanced 1.7 percent, tracking higher crude oil prices.
