European stock exchanges posted solid gains Tuesday, driven higher after the European Union tightened its grip on troubled Greek finances and Wall Street opened in positive territory. Banking issues traded higher in response to bumper earnings from British bank Barclays. Investors took heart at developments in Brussels, where EU finance ministers agreed that Greece would have to undertake 'additional measures' to curb spending if steps outlined so far by Athens do not yield results by March 16. The Greek government's current plan to get the debt-burdened country's public finances in order include a freeze on public sector salaries, a hike in the retirement age and the end of bonuses for some state employees. Greece is committed to reducing a deficit running to 12.7 percent of gross domestic product by four percentage points over the course of 2010. The eurozone has a three percent limit. But the country's euro partners have now effectively seized control of its budgetary sovereignty. The EU's economic and monetary affairs overlord, Finland's Olli Rehn, said European Commission, European Central Bank and International Monetary Fund officials would be in Greece 'in the coming days' to inspect progress towards its existing promises. Market sentiment was also boosted by news of a surge in net earnings at Barclays. The bank said early Tuesday that net profit had more than doubled to almost 9.4 billion pounds in 2009, largely thanks to the sale of its Barclays Global Investors (BGI) unit. It also benefited from a strong trading performance by its investment arm Barclays Capital, which had bought some of failed US bank Lehman Brothers. 'With or without the sale of BGI, the figures are extremely impressive,' said Richard Hunter, head of British equities at Hargreaves Lansdown Stockbrokers. In London the FTSE 100 index added 1.48 percent to close at 5,244.06 points while in Paris the CAC 40 rose 1.66 percent to 3,669.04. The Frankfurt Dax jumped 1.47 percent to finish at 5,592.12 points. Elsewhere there were gains of 0.88 percent on the Swiss Market Index, 0.97 percent in Madrid and 0.94 percent in Amsterdam. 'The anguish over Greece, which was a little exaggerated, has eased,' said Arnaud de Champvallier of Turgot Asset Management. Banks were strong all over. In Paris BNP Paribas shot up 2.79 percent and Societe Generale 4.54 percent. By contrast cosmetics group L'Oreal fell 4.65 percent, the day's biggest loser, after publishing results that failed to meet market expectations. In Frankfurt Deutsche Bank added 3.70 percent, likewise powered by the Barclays performance. Industrial conglomerate MAN rose 3.99 percent on prospects for stable financial results this year. US stocks opened higher after a long holiday weekend, with sentiment brightening after a positive regional manufacturing report and equities' gains in Asia and Europe. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.90 percent) to 10,190.06 while the technology-heavy Nasdaq composite index climbed had 1.01 percent by mid-day to 2,205.54. Manufacturing activity in the New York area expanded at a faster pace in February, the New York Federal Reserve Bank said Tuesday. The Tokyo Stock Exchange's benchmark Nikkei-225 index closed up 0.21 percent on Tuesday, while across Asia trading was quiet with many markets shut for the Lunar New Year. 