Investing.com - European stocks opened moderately higher on Thursday, but gains gains were expected to remain limited as ongoing uncertainty over the possibility of a Greek bailout solution continued to weigh.
During European morning trade, the EURO STOXX 50 gained 0.24%, France’s CAC 40 added 0.27%, while Germany’s DAX 30 rose 0.21%.
Sentiment was hit after Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras on Wednesday urged Greeks to reject an international bailout deal in a referendum due to be held on July 5, souring hopes of any breakthrough.
Less than 24 hours before, Tsipras had written a conciliatory letter to creditors asking for a new bailout that would accept many of their terms.
On Wednesday Greece became the first developed country to default on the International Monetary Fund after its second bailout program expired late Tuesday. The IMF confirmed that the Greek government failed to make a scheduled €1.6 billion loan repayment.
Earlier Thursday, data showed that the number of unemployed people in Spain dropped by 94,700 last month, compared to expectations for a decline of 124,000. In May, the number of unemployed people fell by 118,000.
Financial stocks were mixed. French lenders BNP Paribas (PARIS:BNPP) and Societe Generale (PARIS:SOGN) gadded 0.16% and 0.07%, while Germany's Commerzbank (XETRA:CBKG) and Deutsche Bank (XETRA:DBKGn) rose 0.35% and 0.60%.
Among peripheral lenders however, Italy's Unicredit (MILAN:CRDI) and Intesa Sanpaolo (MILAN:ISP) fell 0.16% and 0.34% respectively, while Spanish banks Banco Santander (MADRID:SAN) and BBVA (MADRID:BBVA) slipped 0.03% and 0.15%.
Elsewhere, Electrolux , AB ser. A (ST:ELUXa) saw shares plunge 9.43% after saying it is willing to fight U.S. antitrust officials to ensure it succeeds in concluding a $3.3 billion acquisition of General Electric (NYSE:GE) Co.’s appliances division before the end of the year.
In London, FTSE 100 dipped 0.01%, weighed by Intertek Group (LONDON:ITRK), whose shares plummeted 2.25% after the stock was downgraded by Jefferies Group to an "underperform" rating.
Financial stocks were also mostly lower, as Lloyds Banking (LONDON:LLOY) edged down 0.07% and Barclays (LONDON:BARC) fell 0.18%, while the Royal Bank of Scotland (LONDON:RBS) slid 0.28%. HSBC Holdings (LONDON:HSBA) overperformed with shares climbing 0.60%.
Mining stocks added to losses, as Glencore Xstrata (LONDON:GLEN) declined 0.40% and Rio Tinto (LONDON:RIO) retreated 0.58%, while Bhp Billiton (LONDON:BLT) lost 0.60% and Fresnillo (LONDON:FRES) tumbled 1.21%.
In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a higher open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.22% gain, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.20% rise, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.24% increase.