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Europe close: Equities advance as banks and miners rally

LONDON (ShareCast) - A rally in banks and mining stocks pushed European equities higher on Friday. A gauge of miners, including Glencore (Xetra: A1JAGV - news) and Rio Tinto (Xetra: 855018 - news) , gained as copper prices rose on lower inventories and a weaker dollar.

Banks were led higher by HSBC after the lender said it was considering moving its headquarters from the UK.

Laith Khalaf, senior analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown (LSE: HL.L - news) , said HSBC would benefit from paying less tax. "It would only have to pay the banking levy on its UK operations, rather than its whole global business," the analyst said. "The rise in its stock price illustrates the effect the bank levy has on the value of the UK banking sector." Greece urged to speed up progress Greek finance minister Yanis Varoufakis was urged to speed up progress on a list of economic reforms required to appease creditors in order to unlock further ad.

During a meeting of Eurozone finance ministers in Riga, Varoufakis was branded irresponsible and accused of being "a time-waster, a gambler and an amateur", according to a source cited by Bloomberg. The Eurogroup failed to make any progress on Greece during its discussions amid concerns the nation is running out of cash.

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Greece owes nearly €1bn to the International Monetary Fund in May. It also has to repay €1.4bn of Treasury bills on 8 May followed by the same amount on 15 May.

The euro rose 0.39% to $1.0866.

German, US data German business confidence improved for a sixth consecutive month in April on the back of better sentiment in the manufacturing sector, reflecting stability at a high level in the economy overall. The IFO institute´s business confidence index jumped to a reading of 108.6 from 107.9 in the month before.The consensus forecast was for a print of 107.9.

US durable goods orders rose more than expected in March, driven by demand for autos, commercial jets and military hardware. Orders increased 4% last month, compared to a 1.4% drop in February and analysts' estimates for a 0.6% gain.

Companies: Renault, Astrazeneca (Swiss: AZN.SW - news) Renault SA gained after posting a 14% rise in quarterly sales.

Astrazeneca (NYSE: AZN - news) was lower after saying first quarter earnings fell.

Suez Environnement Co. edged up after the water company reported a 16% gain in first-quarter profit on expansion.

A gauge of energy shares on the Stoxx 600 rose for a second day as Brent crude rose 0.29% to $65.04 per barrel at 16:57 London time. Speculation that Middle East shipments may be disrupted amid Saudi-led airstrikes in Yemen eased concerns about the supply glut, boosting oil prices.