European shares rose sharply on Tuesday as investors looked for bargains in stocks that had dropped for seven straight days on worries about major economies falling back into recession. At 0714 GMT, the FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares was up 1.6 percent at 951.02 points, after falling 4 percent on Monday and hitting a two-year low. The STOXX Europe 600 Banking Index rose 2.2 percent, having fallen sharply in recent days. On Monday, the S&P 500 suffered its biggest fall since December 2008, falling 6 percent, after the United States lost its triple-A credit rating.
