European markets opened higher on Wednesday, as concerns over political tensions in Germany began to ease and as investors awaited the presentation of the latest UK budget due later in the day.
The EURO STOXX 50 rose 0.23%, France’s CAC 40 added 0.13%, while Germany’s DAX 30 was up 0.07% by 03:30 a.m. ET (07:30 GMT).
Sentiment had weakened after German Chancellor Angela Merkel failed to form a government coalition on Sunday, when the Free Democrats Party (FDP) unexpectedly left the negociation table.
Merkel said on Monday that she would prefer a new election to a minority government. However, German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier said that political parties owed it to their voters to try to form a government.
Financial stocks were mostly higher, as French lenders BNP Paribas (PA:BNPP) andSociete Generale (PA:SOGN) gained 0.35% and 0.30%, while Germany's Commerzbank (DE:CBKG) and Deutsche Bank (DE:DBKGn) added 0.07% and 0.41%.
Among peripheral lenders, Italy's Intesa Sanpaolo (MI:ISP) and Unicredit (MI:CRDI) advanced 0.29% and 0.54% respectively, while Spanish banks Banco Santander(MC:SAN) and BBVA (MC:BBVA) rose 0.29% and 0.40%.
Akzo Nobel (AS:AKZO) added to gains, with shares up 1.73%. Earlier Wedneaday, Japan's Nippon Paint was reported to have made an all cash offer to buy Axalta, putting an end to the group's merger talks with Akzo Nobel.
In London, FTSE 100 added 0.13%, boosted by Kingfisher (LON:KGF) Plc, whose shares surged 2.72%. The stock recovered from sharp losses posted on Tuesday after the home improvement retailer reported a decline in third-quarter underlying sales.
Mining stocks were also broadly higher on the commodity-heavy index. Shares in Rio Tinto(LON:RIO) advanced 0.74% and BHP Billiton (LON:BLT) jumped 1.01%, while rivalsGlencore (LON:GLEN) and Fresnillo (LON:FRES) rallied 1.06% and 1.93% respectively.
In the financial sector, stocks were on the upside. Barclays (LON:BARC) inched up 0.03% and Lloyds Banking (LON:LLOY) added 0.15%, while the Royal Bank of Scotland (LON:RBS) rose 0.16% and HSBC Holdings (LON:HSBA) climbed 1.41%.
Meanwhile, shares in Sage Group (LON:SGE) dropped 0.77% after the software company announced a 10% increase in organic operating profit to £475 million.
Market participants were looking ahead to UK government's latest budget, set to be presented by Finance Minister Philip Hammond at 07:30 p.m. ET (11:30 GMT).
In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a steady to higher open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.12% rise, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.05% gain, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.03% uptick.
The EURO STOXX 50 rose 0.23%, France’s CAC 40 added 0.13%, while Germany’s DAX 30 was up 0.07% by 03:30 a.m. ET (07:30 GMT).
Sentiment had weakened after German Chancellor Angela Merkel failed to form a government coalition on Sunday, when the Free Democrats Party (FDP) unexpectedly left the negociation table.
Merkel said on Monday that she would prefer a new election to a minority government. However, German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier said that political parties owed it to their voters to try to form a government.
Financial stocks were mostly higher, as French lenders BNP Paribas (PA:BNPP) andSociete Generale (PA:SOGN) gained 0.35% and 0.30%, while Germany's Commerzbank (DE:CBKG) and Deutsche Bank (DE:DBKGn) added 0.07% and 0.41%.
Among peripheral lenders, Italy's Intesa Sanpaolo (MI:ISP) and Unicredit (MI:CRDI) advanced 0.29% and 0.54% respectively, while Spanish banks Banco Santander(MC:SAN) and BBVA (MC:BBVA) rose 0.29% and 0.40%.
Akzo Nobel (AS:AKZO) added to gains, with shares up 1.73%. Earlier Wedneaday, Japan's Nippon Paint was reported to have made an all cash offer to buy Axalta, putting an end to the group's merger talks with Akzo Nobel.
In London, FTSE 100 added 0.13%, boosted by Kingfisher (LON:KGF) Plc, whose shares surged 2.72%. The stock recovered from sharp losses posted on Tuesday after the home improvement retailer reported a decline in third-quarter underlying sales.
Mining stocks were also broadly higher on the commodity-heavy index. Shares in Rio Tinto(LON:RIO) advanced 0.74% and BHP Billiton (LON:BLT) jumped 1.01%, while rivalsGlencore (LON:GLEN) and Fresnillo (LON:FRES) rallied 1.06% and 1.93% respectively.
In the financial sector, stocks were on the upside. Barclays (LON:BARC) inched up 0.03% and Lloyds Banking (LON:LLOY) added 0.15%, while the Royal Bank of Scotland (LON:RBS) rose 0.16% and HSBC Holdings (LON:HSBA) climbed 1.41%.
Meanwhile, shares in Sage Group (LON:SGE) dropped 0.77% after the software company announced a 10% increase in organic operating profit to £475 million.
Market participants were looking ahead to UK government's latest budget, set to be presented by Finance Minister Philip Hammond at 07:30 p.m. ET (11:30 GMT).
In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a steady to higher open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.12% rise, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.05% gain, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.03% uptick.
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