European stocks rose on Wednesday, led by a rally in recently sold down banking stocks, although the rebound was seen short lived as simmering worries over Greece's debt kept long-term buyers at bay, according to Reuters. The FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares ended 0.7 percent higher at 1,127.06 points, but the late rally failed to push the index back above its 50-day moving average crossed on Monday. The euro zone's blue-chip Euro STOXX 50 index rose 0.6 percent to 2,816.84 points after testing a key support level at around 2,772 points, which represents a 12-month upward trendline. The index is still down 6.5 percent in May. "We've touched some low points early today, but things have calmed down during the session. It doesn't mean we're back in a rally. There won't be any real buyers until we get a final solution for Greek debt," said David Thebault, head of quantitative sales trading, at Paris-based Global Equities. The STOXX Europe 600 Banks index gained 2.1 percent, with Commerzbank up 6.1 percent and Credit Agricole up 2.3 percent. The rebound in banking stocks, however, was seen as technical, with its 14-day relative strength index, a momentum indicator, hitting 29 on Tuesday. Thirty or below is considered "oversold". The index is down 16 percent over the past three months, bruised by fears of massive writedowns for banks if debt-stricken euro zone countries such as Greece restructure their sovereign debt. On Wednesday, the Greek government scrambled to resolve a stand-off with its opposition over austerity measures, highlighting the mounting political hurdles to an orderly resolution of the euro zone debt crisis.
