Investing.com - European stocks opened higher on Wednesday, as market sentiment strengthened ahead of the Federal Reserve’s upcoming policy decision, due later in the day.
During European morning trade, the EURO STOXX 50 climbed 0.64%, France’s CAC 40 jumped 1.10%, while Germany’s DAX 30 gained 0.78%.
Investors awaited the Fed’s upcoming policy decision as a recent string of pbeat U.S. data continued to support expectations for a rate hike by the U.S. central bank in the near future.
While most investors expect the Fed to leave its monetary policy unchanged this week, it could give hints on the timing of future rate hikes.
Financial stocks were broadly higher, as French lenders BNP Paribas (PA:BNPP) and Societe Generale (PA:SOGN) advanced 0.78% and 1.17%, while Germany’s Commerzbank (DE:CBKG) rose 0.34%.
Deutsche Bank (DE:DBKGn) underperformed, with shares plunging 2.59% after the bank reported a 98% decline in second-quarter net income from the same period last year.
Among peripheral lenders, Italy’s Unicredit (MI:CRDI) and Intesa Sanpaolo (MI:ISP) climbed 0.62% and 1.70% respectively, while Spanish banks BBVA (MC:BBVA) and Banco Santander (MC:SAN) rallied 1.92% and 2.82%.
Peugeot SA (PA:PEUP) added to gains, with shares soaring 6.85% after the carmaker reported record first-half profits and said net income more than doubled to €1.21 billion from a year earlier.
On the downside, Statoil (OL:STL) plummeted 2.95% after the Norwegian energy giant reported a drop in earnings and cut its capital expenditure guidance.
In London, FTSE 100 rose 0.30%, led by St. James’s Place PLC (LON:SJP), whose shares soared 7.58% after the wealth management company said second-quarter operating profit rose to £284.0 million.
Taylor Wimpey (LON:TW) was also one of the top performers on the index, as shares climbed 5.11% after the homebuilder said that the U.K.'s decision to leave the European Union had not yet affected its earnings performance.
In the financial sector, stocks were mostly higher. Shares in the Royal Bank of Scotland (LON:RBS) added 0.21% and HSBC Holdings (LON:HSBA) rose 0.34%, while Lloyds Banking (LON:LLOY) gained 0.63%. Barclays (LON:BARC) underperformed however, with shares slipping 0.13%.
Meanwhile, mining stocks were mixed. Rio Tinto (LON:RIO) and Glencore (LON:GLEN) surged 2.21% and 2.39% respectively, while Fresnillo (LON:FRES) dropped 0.80% and Randgold Resources (LON:RRS) tumbled 1.27%.
In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a higher open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.29% rise, S&P 500 futures a 0.23% gain, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.36% increase.