Investing.com - European stocks pushed higher on Tuesday, as the release of disappointing euro zone inflation data fuelled hopes for fresh easing measures by the European Central Bank, ahead of its monthly policy meeting on Thursday.
During European afternoon trade, the DJ Euro Stoxx 50 jumped 1.08%, France’s CAC 40 rallied 1.23%, while Germany’s DAX climbed 0.49%.
In a preliminary report, Eurostat said that consumer price inflation in the euro zone rose at an annualized rate of 0.3% this month, in line with expectations, slowing from 0.4% in August.
The rate has now been below 1% for 12 straight months, well under the European Central Bank's target of near but just under 2%.
Core CPI, which excludes food, energy, alcohol, and tobacco costs rose by a seasonally adjusted 0.7% in September, following a 0.9% increase in August.
Financial stocks extended earlier gains, as French lenders BNP Paribas (PARIS:BNPP) and Societe Generale (PARIS:SOGN) rallied 1.40% and 1.23%, while Germany's Deutsche Bank (XETRA:DBKGn) advanced 1.01%.
Among peripheral lenders, Italy's Intesa Sanpaolo (MILAN:ISP) and Unicredit (MILAN:CRDI) surged 1.13% and 1.85% respectively, while Spanish banks Banco Santander (MADRID:SAN) and BBVA (MADRID:BBVA) climbed 1.43% and 1.60%.
Elsewhere, Prysmian (MILAN:PRY) saw shares jump 1.04% after the world's largest cable maker said there will be no additional costs or delays for its Western Link project.
In July, the company had cut its profit guidance and forecast a delay of six to nine months for the interconnector between Scotland and England after running into manufacturing difficulties.
In London, FTSE 100 slipped 0.11%, still weighed by Next (LONDON:NXT), down 4.99% as the retailer announced that it will probably cut its annual profit forecast if the warm weather in the U.K. continues throughout October.
Meanwhile, mining stocks were mixed, as Rio Tinto (LONDON:RIO) edged down 0.13% and Bhp Billiton (LONDON:BLT) declined 0.52%, while Glencore Xstrata (LONDON:GLEN) and Vedanta Resources (LONDON:VED) surged 1.33% and 2.05% respectively.
In the financial sector, stocks remained broadly higher. Shares in Lloyds Banking (LONDON:LLOY) advanced 0.66% and Barclays (LONDON:BARC) gained 1.46%, while the Royal Bank of Scotland (LONDON:RBS) soared 2.39%. HSBC Holdings (LONDON:HSBA) underperformed however, dropping 0.74%.
RBS was boosted after saying after saying that total impairment charges for this year will be lower than previously forecast.
Also in the U.K., data showed that gross domestic product increased by 0.9% in the second quarter, beating expectations for 0.8% growth and up from a previous estimate of 0.7%.
In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a higher open. The Dow 30 futures pointed to a 0.33% gain, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.36% increase, while the NASDAQ 100 futures indicated a 0.60% climb.
Earlier Tuesday, official data showed that German retail sales rose 2.5% in August, exceeding expectations for a 0.5% gain, after a revised 1.1% decline the previous month.
Data also showed that the number of unemployed people in Germany rose by 13,000 last month but the unemployment rate remained unchanged at 6.7%.