Investing.com - European stocks opened higher on Monday, as geopolitical tensions between the U.S. and North Korea appeared to subside and as investors were looking ahead to a report on euro zone industrial production due later in the day.
During European morning trade, the EURO STOXX 50 rallied 1.04%, France’s CAC 40 advanced 0.84%, while Germany’s DAX 30 jumped 1.13%.
Sentiment mildly recovered after U.S. Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson both wrote that the U.S. administration would continue to seek diplomatic resolutions with Pyongyang.
In a commentary published in the Wall Street Journal on Sunday, the two men said that "the U.S. has no interest in regime change or accelerated reunification of Korea."
The remarks came after President Donald Trump warned the peninsula late last week against attacking the U.S. territory of Guam and said his first threat to unleash "fire and fury" may have not been tough enough.
Financial stocks were broadly higher, as French lenders BNP Paribas (PA:BNPP) and Societe Generale (PA:SOGN) surged 1.52% and 2.81%, while Germany’s Commerzbank (DE:CBKG) and Deutsche Bank (DE:DBKGn) jumped 2.82% and 2.27%.
Among peripheral lenders, Italy’s Intesa Sanpaolo (MI:ISP) and Unicredit (MI:CRDI) gained 0.37% and 1.18% respectively, while Spanish banks Banco Santander (MC:SAN) and BBVA (MC:BBVA) advanced 1.17% and 1.02%.
Elsewhere, Thyssenkrupp (DE:TKAG) saw shares climb 1.68% after India's Tata Steel Ltd on Friday received regulatory approval for a deal to cut its U.K. pension scheme liabilities.
The decision paves the way for a possible merger between its British and European steel businesses and those of the Germany's group.
In London, FTSE 100 rose 0.28%, as U.K. lenders tracked their European counterparts higher.
Shares in Standard Chartered (LON:STAN) surged 2.85% and Barclays (LON:BARC) rallied 1.10%, while the Royal Bank of Scotland (LON:RBS) jumped 1.25% and Lloyds Banking (LON:LLOY) advanced 0.90%.
Tui AG NA (LON:TUIT) added to gains, with shares up 2.11% after the tour operator Tui said last week that,for the first time in its history, it was profitable in the first nine months of a financial year.
Mining stocks were also broadly higher on the commodity-heavy index. Shares in Anglo American (LON:AAL) climbed 1.37% and Glencore (LON:GLEN) rallied 1.43%, while rival company Antofagasta (LON:ANTO) advanced 1.64%.
Experian PLC (LON:EXPN) was the worst performer on the index, as shares tumbled 1.71%, followed by Imperial Brands (LON:IMB) and Hikma Pharmaceuticals PLC (LON:HIK), down 0.76% and 0.47% respectively.
In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a higher open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.46% rise, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.54% increase, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.64% climb.