Investing.com - European stocks opened higher on Wednesday, as easing tensions between the U.S. and North Korea continued to support market sentiment and as investors focused on a new batch of earnings reports.
During European morning trade, the EURO STOXX 50 climbed 0.72%, France’s CAC 40 gained 0.84%, while Germany’s DAX 30 advanced 0.78%.
Market sentiment continued to improve after North Korea said on Tuesday it had delayed a decision on a plan to fire missiles at the U.S. Pacific territory of Guam while it watches U.S. actions a little longer.
In earnings news, Danish brewer Carlsberg reported better-than-expected first-half profit, as the Tuborg maker reduced costs and cut debt, following in the footsteps of larger rival Anheuser-Busch InBev. However, Carlsberg (CO:CARLa) shares were down 1.08% following the news.
AP Moeller - Maersk A/S A (CO:MAERSKa) slid 0.56% after the Danish transportation conglomerate said the Petya cyber attack had cost it $200 million to $300 million, which would be mostly felt in the third quarter.
The group also said underlying second-quarter profits were $389 million, higher than the $134 million of a year earlier but below average analyst forecasts of $554 million.
Meanwhile, financial stocks were broadly higher, as French lenders BNP Paribas (PA:BNPP) and Societe Generale (PA:SOGN) gained 0.65% and 0.66%, while Germany’s Commerzbank (DE:CBKG) and Deutsche Bank (DE:DBKGn) advanced 0.46% and 0.56%.
Among peripheral lenders, Italy’s Intesa Sanpaolo (MI:ISP) and Unicredit (MI:CRDI) climbed 0.67% and 1.13% respectively, while Spanish bank BBVA (MC:BBVA) and Banco Santander (MC:SAN) rose 0.38% and 0.55%.
Elsewhere, Deutsche Lufthansa AG (BE:LHABy) shares surged 2.16% after rival company and second largest airline in Germany, Air Berlin, filed for bankruptcy protection on Tuesday following years of losses and after key shareholder Etihad Airways withdrew funding.
Lufthansa was said to be in talks to take over parts of the business.
In London, FTSE 100 dropped 0.51%, weighed by Admiral Group (LON:ADML), whose shares dove 5.92% after the car insurer reported a slight increase in first half profits but added that growth in its UK insurance business was offset by costs related to changes to the Ogden discount rate.
On the other hand, mining stocks were broadly higher on the commodity-heavy index. Shares in Rio Tinto (LON:RIO) advanced 1.63% and Glencore (LON:GLEN) jumped 1.71%, while rival company BHP Billiton (LON:BLT) rallied 1.90%.
Financial stocks added to gains, as Lloyds Banking (LON:LLOY) added 0.17% and Barclays (LON:BARC) rose 0.27%, while the Royal Bank of Scotland (LON:RBS) and HSBC Holdings (LON:HSBA) climbed 0.37% and 0.39% respectively.
EasyJet PLC (LON:EZJ) was one of the top performers on the index, with shares up 2.57% after analysts at Beaufort Securities reaffirmed their “buy” rating on the stock.
The discount airline company also made headlines on Wednesday following reports French pilots have claimed easyJet is risking passenger and crew safety by scheduling too many flights.
In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a higher open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.27% rise, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.20% gain, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.28% increase.