Investing.com - European stocks opened sharply higher on Thursday, as the minutes of the Federal Reserve’s latest policy meeting crushed expectations for a rate hike this year, while post-Brexit fears seemed to ease after rattling global markets once again this week.
During European morning trade, the EURO STOXX 50 rallied 1.05%, France’s CAC 40 jumped 1.23%, while Germany’s DAX 30 climbed 0.69%.
The minutes of the Fed’s June policy meeting released on Wednesday showed that policymakers decided to keep interest rate hikes on hold as they assessed the Brexit impact.
Fed officials agreed that it was “prudent to wait” for additional data before considering another rate hike, according to minutes.
European equities had weakened broadly in the three previous sessions as Britain’s shock decision to leave the European Union fuelled uncertainty over the consequences of the U.K. vote on the country’s economy and the global economy as a whole.
Financial stocks were mixed, as French lenders BNP Paribas (PA:BNPP) and Societe Generale (PA:SOGN) rallied 1.86% and 2.14%, while Germany’s Deutsche Bank (DE:DBKGn) and Commerzbank (DE:CBKG) jumped 0.92% and 1.22%.
Among peripheral lenders, Italy’s Intesa Sanpaolo (MI:ISP) and Unicredit (MI:CRDI) advanced 1.52% and 1.93% respectively, while Spanish banks Banco Santander (MC:SAN) and BBVA (MC:BBVA) climbed 1.60% and 1.39%.
Elsewhere, Danone SA (PA:DANO) surged 3.36% after announcing plans to acquire WhiteWave Foods in a deal that values the U.S. organic foods producer at $12.5 billion. It would be the French company's biggest acquisition in 10 years.
In London, FTSE 100 jumped 1.29%, led by Sports Direct (LON:SPD), whose shares skyrocketed 13.30% after the retailer reported an 8.4% year-on-year decline in pretax profit for the year ending April 24.
Financial stocks added to gains, as HSBC Holdings (LON:HSBA) rallied 1.30% and Lloyds Banking (LON:LLOY) climbed 2.70%, while Barclays (LON:BARC) and the Royal Bank of Scotland (LON:RBS) surged 2.98% and 3.36% respectively.
Associated British Foods (LON:ABF) saw shares soar 5.45% after reporting a 3% increase in revenue for the 40 weeks ended June 18 compared to the same period last year.
Meanwhile, mining stocks were mixed on the commodity-heavy index. Shares in Rio Tinto (LON:RIO) jumped 1.09% and Glencore (LON:GLEN) advanced 2.41%, while rivals Randgold Resources (LON:RRS) and Fresnillo (LON:FRES) lost 0.77% and 2.64%.
In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a higher open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.44% gain, S&P 500 futures a 0.54% climb, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.75% increase.