Investing.com - European stocks opened mostly higher on Friday, after the Bank of Japan held back from introducing massive stimulus measures and as investors continued to digest the Federal Reserve’s inaction earlier in the week.
During European morning trade, the EURO STOXX 50 added 0.14%, France’s CAC 40 edged up 0.15%, while Germany’s DAX 30 rose 0.32%.
At the conclusion of its monthly policy meeting on Friday, the BoJ announced a modest increase in purchases of exchange-traded funds (ETFs), but maintained its base money target at 80 trillion yen as well as the pace of purchases for other assets.
The central bank also kept negative interest rates unchanged at -0.1%.
The move disappointed expectations for a stimulus package of nearly 28 trillion yen promised by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe earlier in the week to boost the economy.
The BoJ’s decision came after the Fed left interest rates unchanged at the conclusion of its two-day policy meeting on Wednesday, in a widely expected move.
In its monthly policy statement, the Fed said that “near-term risks to the economic outlook have diminished” and that the labor market has “strengthened”.
Financial stocks were broadly higher, as French lenders Societe Generale (PA:SOGN) and BNP Paribas (PA:BNPP) climbed 0.84% and 1.45%, while Germany’s Commerzbank (DE:CBKG) jumped 1.03%.
Among peripheral lenders, Italy’s Intesa Sanpaolo (MI:ISP) and Unicredit (MI:CRDI) rallied 1.83% and 3.29% respectively, while Spanish banks Banco Santander (MC:SAN) and BBVA (MC:BBVA) advanced 0.62% and 2.22%.
BBVA earlier said that second-quarter net profit increased by 58% compared to the previous quarter, beating analysts' projections.
Adding to gains, Volkswagen (DE:VOWG_p) shares climbed 1.50% even after the carmaker reported a 56% decline in second-quarter profit, hit by costs related to its emissions-cheating scandal.
In London, FTSE 100 fell 0.24%, weighed by Rolls-Royce (LON:RR), whose shares plummeted 2.95% after the company announced plans to double the number of senior management job cuts for 2016 to 400 and forecast a recovery in profits for the second half of the year.
Mining stocks were also broadly lower on the commodity-heavy index. Shares in Fresnillo (LON:FRES) dropped 0.53% and Glencore (LON:GLEN) declined 0.77%, while Rio Tinto (LON:RIO) and Bhp Billiton (LON:BLT) lost 0.81% and 0.99% respectively.
Meanwhile, U.K. lenders tracked their European counterparts higher, as HSBC Holdings (LON:HSBA) rose 0.34% and the Royal Bank of Scotland (LON:RBS) gained 1.01%, while Lloyds Banking (LON:LLOY) rallied 1.28% and Barlcays surged 3.82%.
In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a lower open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.21% fall, S&P 500 futures a 0.23% loss, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.10% slip.