Investing.com - European stocks were mostly higher on Friday, as markets eyed fresh reforms to be announced by the Greek government in the coming days to secure international bailout funds.
During European morning trade, the EURO STOXX 50 advanced 0.40%, France’s CAC 40 rose 0.34%, while Germany’s DAX 30 gained 0.60%.
European equities had come under pressure on Thursday after Greece failed in a bid to secure a quick cash payment from the euro zone rescue fund to help stave off potential bankruptcy next month.
Athens had appealed for the European Financial Stability Facility to return €1.2 billion it said it had overpaid when it transferred bonds intended for bank recapitalization this month.
The Greek government is expected to present a detailed list of proposed reforms to its eurozone partners by next Monday.
Financial stocks were broadly higher, as French lenders Societe Generale (PARIS:SOGN) and BNP Paribas (PARIS:BNPP) and gained 0.12% and 1.20%, while Germany's Commerzbank (XETRA:CBKG) advanced 0.74%.
Among peripheral lenders, Italy's Unicredit (MILAN:CRDI) and Intesa Sanpaolo (MILAN:ISP) rose 0.34% and 0.93% respectively, while Spanish banks Banco Santander (MADRID:SAN) and BBVA (MADRID:BBVA) climbed 0.38% and 0.50%.
Elsewhere, Novo Nordisk (COP:NOVOb) surged 10.06% after the Danish drugmaker said it will resubmit its Tresiba insulin to U.S. regulators based on an early analysis from a study.
Swatch Group (SIX:UHR) was also on the upside, with shares up 3.22% after Chief Executive Officer Nick Hayek predicted that full-year revenue growth will be at the upper end of a range between 5% and 10%.
In London, commodity-heavy FTSE 100 fell 0.27%, weighed by sharp losses in the mining sector.
Shares in Glencore Xstrata (LONDON:GLEN) tumbled 1.25% and Fresnillo (LONDON:FRES) lost 2.01%, while rival companies Randgold Resources (LONDON:RRS) and Anglo American (LONDON:AAL) plummeted 2.23% and 2.32% respectively.
Financial stocks added to losses, as Lloyds Banking (LONDON:LLOY) edged down 0.14% and Barclays (LONDON:BARC) dropped 0.71%, while the Royal Bank of Scotland (LONDON:RBS) retreated 0.91%. HSBC Holdings (LONDON:HSBA) overperformed on the other hand, adding 0.13%.
Meanwhile, ICAP (LONDON:IAP) saw shares jump 1.89% after the world's largest interdealer broker said it is considering spinning off EBS-BrokerTec, in a move to separate its electronic trading operations from a unit that handles trades over the phone.
In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a moderately higher open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.11% rise, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.15% increase, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.08% gain.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to release final data on fourth quarter economic growth and the revised reading of the University of Michigan consumer sentiment index.