European stocks close: stocks closed higher on signs for a new bailout deal for Greece

Stock indices closed higher on signs for a new bailout deal for Greece. Reuters reported on Monday that Greece hopes to reach a deal with its creditors "by Monday night or early Tuesday", according a Greek government official.

A third bailout programme needs to be approved by several EU member states.

Meanwhile, Sentix investor confidence index for the Eurozone fell to 18.4 in August from 18.5 in July.

A reading above 0.0 indicates optimism, below indicates pessimism.

"Despite the global headwinds, the euro zone's economy appears to be in relatively good form. The euro zone has swallowed the turmoil surrounding Greece and a further collapse in economic momentum there relatively well," Manfred Huebner from Sentix said.

The Bank of France released its gross domestic product (GDP) forecasts for France on Monday. French economy is expected to expand at 0.3% in the third quarter.

The second quarter's forecast was revised down to a 0.2% rise from a 0.3% gain.

Indexes on the close:

Name Price Change Change %

FTSE 100 6,736.22 +17.73 +0.26 %

DAX 11,604.78 +113.95 +0.99 %

CAC 40 5,195.41 +40.66 +0.79 %