European shares pared gains today as investors took profits after Greece's parliament passed the first of two key bills needed to secure the next tranche of bailout funds and avoid a near-term default.

A second vote is due tomorrow on specific budget and privatisation measures and failure to pass the bill would stop the release of a crucial €12 billion aid package in July.

"We are selling the news, it was strongly expected the yes vote would pass," Matt Brown, trader at Catalyst Markets, said.

"But we still have a lot of obstacles to overcome and the austerity measures are going to be a hard pill to swallow for the Greek people. There is nervousness about the vote tomorrow, and a second bailout package for Greece has not been confirmed."

Heavyweight European bank shares trimmed gains after the vote, with the STOXX Europe 600 Banks index up 1.7 per cent at 182.18 points, while Greece's share benchmark was up 0.3 per cent, both off earlier session highs.

Support was seen at around 175 for the banks' index, its lowest level since July 2009 and a number it previously bounced off. Resistance was seen at 188, representing a 23.6 per cent Fibonacci retracement from the index's high in February.

By 1355 GMT, the pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index of top shares was up 1.3 per cent at 1,094.37 points.

The index would likely find support at 1,066, its year low reached in March low following a heavy sell-off caused by the Japanese earthquake.

But it will face resistance at around 1,104, a level which it has struggled to go beyond since mid-June, when euro zone ministers failed to agree on how to share the costs of a new bailout for Greece.

Reuters