Investing.com - European stocks were mostly higher on Wednesday, but gains were expected to remain limited as tensions in Ukraine persisted and violence in the Gaza Strip continued to weigh.
During European morning trade, the DJ Euro Stoxx 50 added 0.16%, France’s CAC 40 rose 0.20%, while Germany’s DAX gained 0.44%.
Investors remained cautious after the European Union threatened Russia on Tuesday with harsher sanctions over Ukraine, while fighting in the Gaza Strip continued.
EU ministers announced an agreement to widen the list of individuals and entities targeted by asset freezes and visa bans. The U.S. had hoped for stricter penalties to push Moscow into cooperating with an international investigation into the downed Malaysian jet.
Separately, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry pressed Hamas for a truce in fighting between Israel and militants on the Gaza Strip.
Financial stocks were mixed, as French lenders BNP Paribas (PARIS:BNPP) and Societe Generale (PARIS:SOGN) edged up 0.08% and 0.28%, while Germany's Deutsche Bank (XETRA:DBKGn) plummeted 1.90%.
The Wall Street Journal earlier reported that bank overseers faulted some of Deutsche Bank's U.S. businesses last year for “inaccurate and unreliable” financial reports.
Among peripheral lenders, Italy's Intesa Sanpaolo (MILAN:ISP) and Unicredit (MILAN:CRDI) slid 0.13% and 0.39% respectively, while Spanish banks BBVA (MADRID:BBVA) and Banco Santander (MADRID:SAN) fell 0.17% and 0.46%.
Elsewhere, Repsol (MADRID:REP) declined 0.86% amid reports the Spanish oil and gaz giant is exploring a bid for Talisman Energy (TO:TLM), in a move to deploy cash received as compensation for the loss of its stake in Argentina's YPF.
STMicroelectronics (PARIS:STM) added to losses, down 1.70%, even after reporting its first profit in 11 quarters. The company also said that revenue dropped 8.9% to $1.86 billion.
In London, commodity-heavy FTSE 100 added 0.13%, supported by gains in the mining sector.
Shares in Rio Tinto (LONDON:RIO) climbed 0.88% and Glencore Xstrata (LONDON:GLEN) advanced 0.98%, while rivals Antofagasta (LONDON:ANTO) and Bhp Billiton (LONDON:BLT) rallied 1.08% and 1.33% respectively.
Meanwhile, financial stocks were mixed, as the Royal Bank of Scotland (LONDON:RBS) added 0.11% and HSBC Holdings (LONDON:HSBA) rose 0.20%, while Lloyds Banking (LONDON:LLOY) dipped 0.04% and Barclays (LONDON:BARC) retreated 0.83%.
In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a moderately higher open. The Dow 30 futures pointed to a 0.11% gain, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.08% rise, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.07% uptick.