* FTSEurofirst 300 (FTSE Index: E3X.FGI - news) up 0.7 pct, Euro STOXX 50 (Zurich: ^STOXX50E - news) up 1.1 pct
* Revived hopes of Greek debt deal boost sentiment
* Euro zone VSTOXX (EUREX: FVS.EX - news) volatility index back at late July levels
PARIS, Jan 26 (Reuters) - European stocks gained ground on Thursday, as a dovish tone from the U.S. Federal (SES: E1:F20.SI - news) Reserve and rekindled hopes of a Greek debt deal helped shares resume their brisk five-week rally.
At 1227 GMT, the FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares was up 0.7 percent at 1,046.97 points, bouncing back after a two-day pullback.
The euro zone's blue chip Euro STOXX 50 index was up 1.1 percent at 2,447.18 points, after hitting a 3-month high earlier in the session and flirting with its 200-day moving average.
"Last night's message from the Fed will be supportive for a little while, and we're crossing very important technical levels both on the S&P 500 (SNP: ^GSPC - news) and the Euro STOXX 50, which is sending a strong signal," Agilis Gestion fund manager Arnaud Scarpaci said.
"We just need to the get the Greek debt deal out of the way so we can chase the market higher."
Late on Wednesday, the Fed announced it would likely keep interest rates near zero until at least late 2014, considerably later than investors had expected and some 18 months later than the Fed had suggested last year.
Cyclical mining and metal shares paced the gains on Thursday, with Rio Tinto (Berlin: CRA1.BE - news) up 4.1 percent, BHP Billiton (Hamburg: BHP1.HM - news) up 2.8 percent and ArcelorMittal (Other OTC: ARCXF.PK - news) up 2.4 percent.
Around Europe, UK's FTSE 100 (Euronext: VFTSE.NX - news) index was up 1.1 percent, Germany's DAX index (Xetra: ^GDAXI - news) up 1.4 percent, and France's CAC 40 (Paris: ^FCHI - news) up 0.8 percent.
Carrefour (Euronext: CA.NX - news) , the world's second-largest retailer, rose 6 percent on mounting speculation of a management reshuffle.
"We would not be surprised to see (CEO Lars) Olofsson leaving, but we still remain negative on the stock as we think that changing the CEO will not solve the structural and serious operating issues of Carrefour in France," a Paris-based trader said.
The world's top cellphone maker by volume Nokia (TLO: NOK1V.TI - news) surged 5.4 percent, recovering from a slump earlier this week, after it posted better-than-expected quarterly core earnings.
"Slowly, we're starting to get positive signals from the microeconomy," Agilis's Scarpaci said.
"The best strategy this year will be to go sector by sector to pick stocks, while guys who are simply betting long or short on baskets of stocks will get burned."
FOCUS SWITCHING TO PORTUGAL
Thursday's gains were also fuelled by speculation of progress in Greek debt negotiations, which helped propel the euro currency to a five-week high against the dollar.
The mood was boosted by media reports saying Greece's private creditors were willing to tweak their "final offer" of a 4 percent interest rate on new Greek bonds in order to clinch a deal in time to avert a chaotic default.
The Euro STOXX 50 volatility index, Europe (Chicago Options: ^REURUSD - news) 's yardstick of investor sentiment known as the VSTOXX, was down 3.1 percent at 24.5, a level not seen since late July, signalling a sharp rise in investors' risk appetite.
But while worries surrounding debt-stricken Greece were abating, investors' focus was turning to Portugal, seen as the next domino in the euro zone debt crisis.
Portuguese five- and 10-year government bond yields hit euro-era highs on Thursday on rising fears the country will require a second bailout or restructure its debt. The five-year bond yields rose 82 bps to 20.25 percent, while ten-year yields were 23 bps higher at 15.23 percent. (Editing by Hans-Juergen Peters)
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