Market anxiety eased in Greece after the country's finance minister, Yanis Varoufakis, said he was confident of reaching a deal with bailout creditors as soon as next week.

Shares were up over 3 percent on the Athens Stock Exchange in early afternoon trading Tuesday, while bond yields retreated from a Monday spike, with the 2-year rate dropping by more than a percentage point to 22.9 percent.

Greece's new left-wing government is struggling to agree on terms for the release of remaining bailout money needed to avoid a summer default.

In Brussels, EU Commission spokesman Margaritis Schinas said the troubled negotiations were making progress, "albeit at a slow pace."