European shares bounce, focus on ECB meeting

European shares rose sharply on Thursday, tracking strong gains on Wall Street and ahead of a European Central Bank meeting that investors expect will deliver a boost to markets following recent turmoil. At 1011 GMT, the FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares was up 1.5 percent at 1,416.09 points after volatile trading in the past weeks. The index is still down more than 10 percent from its peak about a month ago due to turmoil in the Chinese stock market and the prospects of an imminent