Investing.com - European stocks opened sharply higher on Wednesday, as markets continued to recover from Britain’s shock decision to leave the European Union last week.
During European morning trade, the EURO STOXX 50 jumped 1.47%, France’s CAC 40 advanced 1.01%, while Germany’s DAX 30 advanced 0.74%.
Global equities were boosted on Tuesday, as concerns over the effects of the U.K. decision to leave the European Union began to ease, fuelling demand for riskier assets.
Prime Minister David Cameron, who resigned following the Brexit vote, met with his European counterparts in Brussels on Tuesday to discuss the country's position following the vote.
Other EU countries applied pressure to the U.K. to trigger Article 50, which sets in motion the process of withdrawing from the European Union.
Financial stocks were broadly higher, as French lenders Societe Generale (PA:SOGN) and BNP Paribas (PA:BNPP) surged 3.49% and 2.76%, while Germany’s Commerzbank (DE:CBKG) and Deutsche Bank (DE:DBKGn) rallied 1.35% and 1.70%.
Among peripheral lenders, Italy’s Intesa Sanpaolo (MI:ISP) and Unicredit (MI:CRDI) soared 4.99% and 4.63% respectively, while Spanish banks Banco Santander (MC:SAN) and BBVA (MC:BBVA) advanced 3.51% and 3.01%.
Elsewhere, Vivendi (PA:VIV) jumped 2.38% after French group said its Canal+ network will drop most of its free-to-air strands in the fall to concentrate on pay TV.
On the downside, Deutsche Lufthansa AG (BE:LHABy) shares slipped 0.10% after the company announced that it plans to offer satellite-based broadband onboard short-haul flights starting from October.
In London, commodity-heavy FTSE 100 rallied 1.70%, boosted by sharp gains in the mining sector.
Shares in Glencore (LON:GLEN) climbed 1.79% and Rio Tinto (LON:RIO) surged 2.73%, while BHP Billiton (LON:BLT) and Anglo American (LON:AAL) soared 2.86% and 3.41% respectively.
U.K. lenders were also sharply higher, as HSBC Holdings (LON:HSBA) jumped 1.62% and Lloyds Banking (LON:LLOY) advanced 2.08%, while the Royal Bank of Scotland (LON:RBS) rallied 2.85% and Barclays (LON:BARC) climbed 3.42%.
Meanwhile, Tui AG NA (LON:TUIT) shares plummeted 3.30% after the travel group TUIsaid it expects the Brexit vote to affect profits because of the sharpl fall in the pound. However, it does not see a big change in travel habits.
In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a higher open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.35% increase, S&P 500 futures a 0.31% gain, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.35% rise.