Investing.com - European stocks opened sharply higher on Wednesday, as rising oil prices continued to lend support to the energy and mining sectors and as financial stocks also posted sharp gains.
During European morning trade, the EURO STOXX 50 jumped 1.74%, France’s CAC 40 climbed 1.73%, while Germany’s DAX 30 rallied 1.87%.
Oil prices pulled back amid profit-taking early Monday, after surging to a five-month high on Tuesday following reports Russia and Saudi Arabia had already reached a deal on an oil output freeze.
The report came ahead of a highly-anticipated meeting between major oil producers from the Middle East and Russia scheduled in Doha next Sunday.
Energy stocks were broadly higher, as French oil and gas major Total SA (PA:TOTF) rallied 1.69% and Italy’s ENI (MI:ENI) SpA jumped 1.85%, while Norwegian rival Statoil ASA (OL:STL) climbed 1.62%.
Financial stocks added to gains, as French lenders BNP Paribas (PA:BNPP) and Societe Generale (PA:SOGN) surged 2.77% and 3.49%, while Germany’s Deutsche Bank (DE:DBKGn) and Commerzbank (DE:CBKG) jumped 1.84% and 1.75%.
Among peripheral lenders, Italy’s Intesa Sanpaolo (MI:ISP) and Unicredit (MI:CRDI) gained 3.33% and 4.02% respectively, while Spanish banks Banco Santander (MC:SAN) and BBVA (MC:BBVA) advanced 2.23% and 1.87%.
Elsewhere, shares in Thyssenkrupp (DE:TKAG) soared 3.68% amid reports it and India's Tata Steel are holding talks on the possibility of combining their European steel operations in a joint venture.
Air Liquide (PA:AIRP) was also on the upside, whith shares rallying 1.84% after the French company signed a new long-term contract with Maoming Petrochemical Co., a subsidiary of China Petroleum & Chemical Corp.
In London, commodity-heavy FTSE 100 jumped 1.16%, boosted by sharp gains in the mining sector.
Shares in Glencore (LON:GLEN) climbed 3.42% and Bhp Billiton (LON:BLT) rallied 3.88%, while rivals Rio Tinto (LON:RIO) and Anglo American (LON:AAL) soared 4.79% and 4.87% respectively.
Financial stocks were also broadly higher, as Lloyds Banking (LON:LLOY) and the Royal Bank of Scotland (LON:RBS) advanced 2.01% and 2.03% respectively, while Barclays (LON:BARC) jumped 2.44% and HSBC Holdings (LON:HSBA) surged 3.05%.
In earnings news, Tesco (LON:TSCO) reported a 0.9% increase in U.K. like-for-like sales in the 13 weeks to February 27. The supermarket giant also said that operating profit for the year came in at £944 million.
In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a higher open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.37% gain, S&P 500 futures a 0.33% rise, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.47% increase.