Greek shares outperformed flat European indices on Tuesday after a list of proposed reforms submitted to international partners was received favourably by the European Commission.

Greece's Athex index, which reopened on Tuesday after a three-day weekend, surged 6.2 per cent, hitting a 2-1/2 month high after the new government in Athens sent in a list of economic reforms that would pave the way for a four-month extension of its bailout.

“The list has been submitted so unless we get any negative comment on that, I don't see any other negative pushing the market down this morning,” Mike Reuter, a trader at Tradition, said.

The broader pan-European FTSEuforirst 300 index was flat at 1,535.36 points at 0920 GMT after setting a fresh seven-year high at 1,537.12 points in early deals.

Denmark's Jyske Bank fell 6.8 per cent after it swung to an unexpected loss in the fourth quarter, weighed down by hefty charges for non-performing loans.

Heavyweight Vodafone fell after Bank of America Merrill Lynch downgraded the company to “underperform” from “neutral”.

Miner BHP Billiton, chip equipment maker ASM International and telecoms firms Telefonica Deutschland were helping cap losses on the index.

Shares in BHP rose 3.6 per cent, driving a sector rally, after the global miner beat market forecasts by posting a smaller-than-expected drop in half-year profit.

ASML shares hit a record high after it said its customer TSMC had made more than 1,000 wafers in a single day on a new-generation extreme ultra-violet lithography system.

Telefonica Deutschland was 5.7 per cent higher after it said it expected to generate 250 million euros ($283.40 million) in synergies this year from the acquisition of E-Plus.

Banking shares are in focus after the Wall Street Journal reported the US Department of Justice and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission are investigating at least 10 major banks, including HSBC, Barclays and Credit Suisse Group, for possible rigging of precious-metals markets.

Stronger domestic demand drove growth in Europe's largest economy in the fourth quarter while foreign trade and gross capital investment also helped, data from Germany's Federal Statistics Office showed on Tuesday.

Central bankers will take centre stage later in the session. Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen testifies before Congress at 1500 GMT and there is much uncertainty over whether she will echo the dovish tone of the minutes from the Fed's last meeting, or reaffirm June as a window for a first rate hike.

European Central Bank President Mario Draghi is due to give a speech at an event in Frankfurt at 1400 GMT.

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