LONDON, Sept 9 (Reuters) - European equities hit an 11-month closing high on Wednesday, with stronger crude prices on the back of a falling dollar boosting energy stocks and Commerzbank leading the financial sector higher.
The FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares provisionally ended 1 percent higher at 986.99 points, the highest close since early October and a fourth consecutive session of gains.
The index is up 19 percent this year and has jumped 53 percent since hitting a record low in early March, but is still down about 15 percent from its level just before the collapse of Wall Street firm Lehman Brothers a year ago that accelerated the global credit crisis.
Banks were among top gainers, with Commerzbank jumping 11.6 percent after the bank said it will repay outstanding state guarantees immediately. Martin Blessing, the company's chief executive, still expects to reach its profit targets.
Other financial stocks were also higher. Standard Chartered , HSBC, Barclays, Societe Generale, Credit Agricole and Swedbank rose between 1 percent and 3.4 percent.
"The market has been helped by the merger and acquisition news this week. It just boosts sentiment and investors feel that M&A activities could drive the market again," said Chicuong Dang, equity analyst at Richelieu Finance, in Paris.
"But we haven't seen any strong evidence of a sustainable recovery going forward. We need to see strong macro-economic data to show that things are getting better."
Across Europe, Britain's FTSE 100 closed 1.2 percent higher at 5,004.30 points. Germany's DAX was up 1.7 percent and France's CAC 40 rose 1.3 percent. (Reporting by Atul Prakash)