European stocks surge on hope of Greece deal

European stock markets surged Monday on hope that Greece was closer to ending a five-month standoff with its EU-IMF creditors over a deal to save the country from default and a possible euro exit.

Eurogroup head Jeroen Dijsselbloem sounded an optimistic note following a meeting of eurozone finance ministers in Brussels to review new reform proposals by Greece.

Athens' plans are a "welcome step" and "an opportunity to get that deal later this week and that is what we will work for," Dijsselbloem told reporters.

In the euro area, the DAX 30 in Frankfurt soared 3.07 percent to stand at 11,379.20 points in afternoon deals, and the CAC 40 in Paris, after breaching three percent, hovered up 2.95 percent at 4,957.54 points.

Madrid's IBEX 35 won 3.03 percent to 11,276 points and Athens' main index rocketed 8.21 percent to 743.75.

Outside the eurozone, London's benchmark FTSE 100 index rose 1.38 percent to 6,802.93 points compared with Friday's close.

Meanwhile the leaders of the 19 countries in the euro area are set to hold an emergency summit on Greece later Monday in Brussels.

"Without a firm assessment as to how close the Greek proposal is to the demand of creditors, the Eurogroup... and the summit of eurozone leaders this evening cannot really decide much," said Berenberg analyst Holger Schmieding.

On the foreign exchange market, the euro rose to $1.1364 from $1.1349 late in New York on Friday.

- ECB supporting Greek banks -

The European Central Bank (ECB) again increased emergency liquidity funds for Greece's banks Monday, according to a Greek bank source who said the ECB may renew the hike "at any time" if necessary.

The new increase of the ECB's Emergency Liquidity Assistance was the third since Wednesday, and came as Greek savers continued withdrawing their money in large volumes from the country's banks.

"Behind the scenes, the European Central Bank remains active in keeping Greek banks on life support," said Alistair Cotton, senior dealer at Currencies Direct.

Wall Street stocks rose in opening trade Monday, following European equity markets higher on hopes of a breakthrough in negotiations with Greece.

Five minutes into trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.71 percent at 18,143.20 points.

The broad-based S&P 500 gained 0.73 percent at 2,125.45, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index advanced 0.77 percent to 5,156.25.

Asia's main markets also rose Monday on optimism for a Greek debt deal, with Tokyo up 1.26 percent, Seoul gaining 0.40 percent and Sydney adding 0.24 percent.

Tokyo rallied 1.26 percent, or 253.95 points, to 20,428.19 and Seoul gained 0.40 percent, or 8.20 points to 2,055.16, while Sydney reversed early losses to add 0.24 percent, or 13.20 points, to 5,610.20.

Hong Kong jumped 1.20 percent, while Shanghai was closed for a public holiday.