European stocks close sharply higher

London - Europe's main stock markets closed sharply higher on Thursday on the back of the US Federal Reserve meeting, with London's benchmark FTSE 100 index rising 2.04% to 6 466 points.

The Paris CAC 40 surged 3.35% to 4 249.49 points, while in Frankfurt the DAX 30 was up 2.79% to 9 811.06 points.

- Reuter reported that the FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares was up 2.8% at 1 353.52 points, its biggest rise since November 2011, extending gains after Greek stocks reversed an early fall.

The Athens Composite Index erased earlier losses to trade 1.5% higher after the leader of Greece's radical leftist party Syriza, Alexis Tsipras, said that he wanted a negotiated debt relief solution with the European Union and to keep the country in the euro currency bloc.

Oil companies rose, with Norway's energy services firm Seadrill up 8.1% to top the index, as Brent crude jumped to $63 per barrel.

Oil stocks hit hard

The STOXX 600 Oil & Gas sector was up 2.9%, but remains down more than 18% since the beginning of October.

Many of the stocks in the sector are heavily shorted and positioned for a squeeze higher, traders said.

"Oil stocks have been hard hit, so when sentiment on the sector starts to turn around, the first place for investors to look is those stocks that have been heavily beaten down," Chris Beauchamp, market analyst at IG, said.

In telecoms, Alcatel-Lucent rose 7.8% on a report that it could merge with fellow telecom equipment firm Nokia.

Swisscom sank to the bottom of the FTSEurofirst 300, down nearly 6% after news that French billionaire Xavier Niel had agreed to buy rival, private-equity-owned Orange Switzerland.