By Carrie Ho SINGAPORE, May 26 (Reuters) - Copper rose more than 1 percent in Shanghai on Thursday, while also advancing in London as commodities gained across the board, supported by an increase in risk appetite and a firmer euro. While worries surrounding the euro have not eased much, with Greece fighting to avoid a debt restructuring that could have a ripple effect across other European countries, for now though, the pendulum is swinging back to risk taking. [ID:nLDE74O1MZ] Asian stocks were on course for their biggest gain in a month on Thursday as recovering commodity prices and the euro's rebound toward $1.42 brought investors back into the markets in search of bargains. Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange edged up $44.50 to $9,109.50 a tonne by 0712 GMT, adding to Wednesday's rise of more than $200 and extending gains to a third day. The most-active August copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange SCFcv1 rose 1.7 percent to close at 68,080 yuan per tonne, as it tried to catch up with overnight gains in London. "It's funny, if you look across the board, people are getting the sense that stocks are pulling commodity prices higher. There is optimism in the equity markets as profits are getting better," Commodity Broking Services managing director Jonathan Barratt said from Sydney. "There also seems to be an optimism coming out of the U.S. that is not reflected in the recent economic numbers but in stocks." Technically, LME copper is expected to hover around $9,066 with a resistance zone seen from $9,066 to $9,119, said Reuters technical analyst Wang Tao. He added that his bullish target of 69,280 yuan for Shanghai copper remained unchanged. "The dollar is falling and the euro is rallying. This should help copper in the short term," said a Sydney-based trader. "But I don't think this rally will last as it is just a technical rebound, even if it is on the back of a stronger euro," a Singapore-based trader said. The euro advanced to a one-week high against the dollar on Thursday as a report that China was interested in buying "bailout bonds" for Portugal spurred active stop-loss buying of the single currency. China and other Asian investors are expected to buy a "strong proportion" of Portuguese bailout bonds when the euro zone's rescue fund starts auctioning them next month, the Financial Times reported on Thursday, citing senior fund officials. [ID:nL3E7GQ04U] But, uncertainty over the euro zone debt crisis may cap the rise of the euro and copper prices. The Greek government sought consensus on Wednesday for tough measures to exit the debt crisis as Greece's EU commissioner warned that its euro membership was at risk if it failed to agree to sacrifices. [ID:nLDE74O1MZ] While paymasters at the EU pressed for more reforms and wider political support before they agree on further loans to plug a funding gap next year, about 15,000 angry Greeks gathered in central Athens to protest against cutbacks. In industry news, Chile's No. 4 copper mine, Codelco's 404,000-tonnes-a-year El Teniente mine, produced normally on Wednesday despite a walk out by contract workers demanding more benefits from the world's top producer. [ID:nN25141010] Chinese base metals producers and downstream consumers may be affected by power shortages, possibly the worst since 2004. [ID:nL3E7GQ0AA]

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