European shares rose for the first time in three days. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index climbed 0.8 percent to 403 at 8:16 a.m. in London. Health-care companies contributed the most to the gains as Roche Holding AG and AstraZeneca Plc climbed more than 2 percent after positive updates on cancer drugs. Italian shares added 0.5 after regional elections over the weekend. The Swiss Market Index rose 0.8 percent and France’s CAC 50 Index gained 0.7 percent after both gauges fell the most in a month on Friday. The Stoxx 600 slid 1.9 percent last week, trimming its monthly advance to 1 percent, as concern grew that Greece may not reach an accord with creditors and that the U.S. economic recovery is faltering. Deutsche Annington Immobilien SE jumped 8 percent after Germany’s largest publicly traded owner of homes raised its 2015 profit forecast. Plus500 Ltd. climbed 8.1 percent as online gaming company Playtech Plc agreed to buy the British trading platform whose anti-money-laundering safeguards have come under scrutiny by regulators. Greece and its creditors are struggling to reach an agreement on budget targets, blaming each other over the weekend for the lack of progress needed to unlock more aid. The nation has to make four payments totaling almost 1.6 billion euros ($1.78 billion) to the International Monetary Fund this month, and its bailout package backed by the euro region expires at the end of June. Yet the country’s ASE Index posted its first back-to-back monthly gains in more than a year and investors kept pouring money into a fund tracking the shares, sending its market value to a record. The Greek stock market is closed for a holiday.

Source