Europe Shares Higher On Hopes For G-7 Action

European shares edged mostly higher Tuesday, with oil majors and some banks driving gains, as investors got hopeful ahead of Group of Seven conference call on the euro-zone crisis and over upbeat data out of China.

The Stoxx Europe 600 index (XX:SXXP) +0.11% rose 0.4% to 234.75, following a 0.5% loss to 233.87 on Monday, a new closing low for the year and the fourth-straight loss for the index.

G-7 finance and central bank governors will hold a conference call Tuesday to discuss the European debt crisis, according to a spokeswoman for the Canadian finance minister. The call comes amid reports that European officials are considering recapitalizing euro-zone banks directly through the region’s bailout fund.

“Frankly, given the incredibly fragile sentiment evident over recent weeks, the G-7 needs to come up with something fairly convincing to soothe the nerves of traders and investors alike,” said analysts at FxPro in emailed comments.

A 0.7% rise for oil major Total SA (FR:FP) +0.85% TOT +1.02% inspired a 0.4% gain to 2,965.16 for the French CAC 40 index (FR:PX1) +0.30% . Also higher: BNP Paribas SA (FR:BNP) +1.61% rose 2.4%, while Societe Generale SA (FR:GLE) +0.64% gained 1.5%.

Also underpinning some sentiment, data from China showed the country’s service sector expanded at its fastest pace in 19 months in May, according to the HSBC Purchasing Managers Index. On Sunday, a survey showed the China services sector expanded at its slowest pace in more than a year. HSBC China services gauge.

London markets remained closed for the second of a two-day holiday to celebrate the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee.

The German DAX 30 index (DX:DAX) -0.89% again trailed the rest of the market, trading flat at 5,975.48. Shares of Deutsche Boerse AG (DE:DB1) -1.00% fell 1.1% and airline Deutsche Lufthansa AG (DE:LHA) -0.90% dropped 1%.