Investing.com - European stocks gained further ground on Monday, as expectations for additional stimulus in the euro zone continued to support.
During European morning trade, the EURO STOXX 50 rallied 1.38%, France’s CAC 40 advance 1.13%, while Germany’s DAX 30 jumped 1.02%.
Equity markets strengthened amid speculation that the European Central Bank will embark on full blown quantitative easing as soon as its next meeting on January 22.
Over the weekend, the governor of the Italy’s central bank warned that the euro zone is at risk of further deflation and said the best way to combat that threat is through purchasing government bonds.
Financial stocks were broadly higher, as French lenders BNP Paribas (PARIS:BNPP) and Societe Generale (PARIS:SOGN) rose 0.23% and 0.15%, while Germany's Deutsche Bank (XETRA:DBKGn) added 0.25%.
Among peripheral lenders, Italy's Unicredit and Intesa Sanpaolo gained 0.73% and 1.01% respectively, while Spanish banks BBVA and Banco Santander advanced 0.66% and 1.23%.
Elsewhere, Roche (SIX:ROG) saw shares jump 1.15% following reports that the company will pay more than $1 billion for a majority stake in Foundation Medicine Inc., giving the drugmaker access to genomic tests to screen tumors.
In London, FTSE 100 rose 0.59%, supported by ARM Holdings after the chipmaker announced late last week that it had appointed EasyJet Chief Financial Officer Chris Kennedy to succeed current Chief Financial Officer Tim Score.
In the financial sector, stocks were mixed. Shares in Barclays climbed 0.46% and HSBC Holdings (LONDON:HSBA) advanced 0.64%, while the Royal Bank of Scotland (LONDON:RBS) dipped 0.05% and Lloyds Banking (LONDON:LLOY) slid 0.33%.
Meanwhile, mining stocks were broadly lower as Rio Tinto edged down 0.12% and Glencore Xstrata (LONDON:GLEN) fell 0.24%, while rival Antofagasta tumbled 1.23%.
Energy stocks were also on the downside, on the back of an ongoing rout in oil prices. Shares in oil and gas major BP (LONDON:BP) were down 0.83%, while Petrofac led losses on the index, plummeting 3.78%.
In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a higher open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.39% rise, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.39% gain, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.41% increase.