European stocks gained for a third day as Greece moved closer to forming a government and a Spanish debt sale met targets, outweighing a bigger-than-forecast decline in German investor confidence.

FTSE 100 5,590.55 +99.46 +1.81%, CAC 40 3,113.26 +47.07 +1.54%, DAX 6,359.23 +111.03 +1.78%.

Home Retail Group Plc surged 23 percent as sales at the Argos chain beat estimates.

Whitbread Plc jumped 6.3 percent as first-quarter revenue increased.

SAP AG rose 2 percent after U.S. peer Oracle Corp. reported fourth-quarter profit that beat estimates.

Danone tumbled 6.1 percent after the world’s biggest yogurt maker cut its profitability forecast.