Investing.com - European stocks opened mostly higher on Thursday, as investors were eyeing the European Central Bank’s interest rate decision due later in the day.
During European morning trade, the EURO STOXX 50 rose 0.23%, France’s CAC 40 gained 0.25%, while Germany’s DAX 30 added 0.13%.
Later Thursday, the ECB was expected to leave interest rates on hold. Market participants were especially waiting for comments by ECB President Mario Draghi following the rate decision, for indications on future policy moves.
Markets were also digesting comments by Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen made late Wednesday and saying that interest rates could be raised quickly this year.
Speaking at the Commonwealth Club in San Francisco, Ms. Yellen said that "waiting too long to begin moving toward the neutral rate could risk a nasty surprise down the road - either too much inflation, financial instability, or both."
Financial stocks were broadly higher, as French lenders BNP Paribas (PA:BNPP) and Societe Generale (PA:SOGN) gained 0.74% and 0.90%, while Germany’s Deutsche Bank (DE:DBKGn) and Commerzbank (DE:CBKG) rallied 1.09% and 1.48%.
Among peripheral lenders, Italy’s Intesa Sanpaolo (MI:ISP) and Unicredit (MI:CRDI) advanced 0.33% and 1.11% respectively, while Spanish banks Banco Santander (MC:SAN) and BBVA (MC:BBVA) climbed 0.81% and 0.59%.
Elsewhere, Safran (PA:SAF) jumped 1.96% following news it made a $9 billion agreed cash offer to aircraft seats manufacturer Zodiac Aerospace (PA:ZODC), in a move to create the third largest aerospace supplier. Shares in Zodiac Aerospace skyrocketed 21.73%.
On the downside, Carrefour (PA:CARR) declined 0.59% even as the French supermarket chain reported a 3.9% rise in sales in its latest quarter, beating analysts' projections.
In London, FTSE 100 slipped 0.13%, weighed by Royal Mail (LON:RMG), whose shares plunged 4.34% even after saying that trading was in line with expectations in the nine months to December 25m helped by a strong performance over the Christmas period.
Meanwhile, mining stocks were mixed on the commodity-heavy index. Shares in Glencore (LON:GLEN) climbed 0.68% and BHP Billiton (LON:BLT) advanced 0.69%, while Rio Tinto (LON:RIO) and Anglo American (LON:AAL) slid 0.41% and 0.78% respectively.
In the financial sector, stocks were broadly higher. Lloyds Banking (LON:LLOY) edged up 0.12% and HSBC Holdings (LON:HSBA) added 0.19%, while the Royal Bank of Scotland (LON:RBS) rose 0.18% and Barclays (LON:BARC) rallied 1.30%.
Burberry Group (LON:BRBY) was one of the top performers on the index, with shares up 2.12% after analysts at Barclays reaffirmed their “overweight” rating on the stock.
In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a steady open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.02% dip, S&P 500 futures showed a 0.03% loss, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.03% downtick.