Investing.com - European stocks opened higher on Tuesday, led by gains in the financial sector, as markets continued to digest comments by Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen made on Friday.
During European morning trade, the EURO STOXX 50 climed 0.87%, France’s CAC 40 jumped 0.95%, while Germany’s DAX 30 advanced 0.87%.
At the Jackson Hole symposium on Friday, Fed Chair Janet Yellen said the case for U.S. interest rate hikes has “strengthened” in recent months due to improvements in the labor market and to expectations for solid economic growth.
However, she did not indicate when the Fed would act, saying that higher interest rates will depend on incoming economic data.
Speaking shortly afterwards, Fed Vice Chair Stanley Fischer said Yellen’s speech was “consistent” with expectations for possibly two more rate hikes this year, opening the door to a September hike.
Financial stocks were broadly higher, as French lenders Societe Generale (PA:SOGN) and BNP Paribas (PA:BNPP) rallied 0.93% and 0.99%, while Germany’s Deutsche Bank (DE:DBKGn) and Commerzbank (DE:CBKG) gained 0.26% and 1.08%.
Among peripheral lenders, Italy’s Intesa Sanpaolo (MI:ISP) and Unicredit (MI:CRDI) climbed 0.63% and 1.63% respectively, while Spanish banks Banco Santander (MC:SAN) and BBVA (MC:BBVA) advanced 0.52% and 0.68%.
Oil prices edged higher on Tuesday, but energy-related stocks were mixed. Italian oil and gas major ENI (MI:ENI) climbed 0.52% and Norway’s Statoil (OL:STL) rose 0.23%, while Russian rival Gazprom (MCX:GAZP) declined 0.40%.
Elsewhere, Thyssenkrupp AG (DE:TKAG) gained 0.55% following reports the German company has been awarded a contract to manufacture, supply, install and maintain more than 500 elevators and escalators for the parts of the Doha Metro network in Qatar.
In London, FTSE 100 inched up 0.04%, as U.K. lenders tracked their European counterparts higher.
Shares in the Royal Bank of Scotland (LON:RBS) edged up 0.10% and Barclays (LON:BARC) advanced 0.45%, while Lloyds Banking (LON:LLOY) climbed 0.47% and HSBC Holdings (LON:HSBA) rallied 1.60%.
Bunzl (LON:BNZL) was one of the top performers on the index, with shares jumping 1.53% after saying it has been hit by “subdued macroeconomic conditions in the UK” so far this year, but that overall revenue grew 10% in the six months to June, thanks to stronger performance in other regions and a string of acquisitions.
Meanwhile, mining stocks were sharply lower on the commodity-heavy index. Glencore (LON:GLEN) lost 3.09% and Randgold Resources (LON:RRS) tumbled 3.19%, while Rio Tinto (LON:RIO) and Antofagasta (LON:ANTO) plunged 3.36% and 3.69% respectively.
In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a steady open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.06% rise, S&P 500 futures showed a 0.02% uptick, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.04% gain.