Investing.com - European stocks rallied on Thursday, boosted by news that a production freeze deal was struck by major oil producing countries, while investors eyed the release of German unemployment and inflation data due later in the day.
During European morning trade, the EURO STOXX 50 rallied 1.34%, France’s CAC 40 advanced 1.54%, while Germany’s DAX 30 jumped 1.17%.
Global equities were boosted after the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries said it agreed to reduce output to a range of 32.5-33.0 million barrels per day, a reduction of 0.7-2.2% from OPEC estimates of its current output at 33.24 million bpd.
It was the first such deal since 2008 and oil prices were also hovering near three-week highs following the news.
Energy-related stocks were sharply higher, French oil and gas major Total SA (PA:TOTF) surged 4.86% and Italy’s ENI (MI:ENI) jumped 4.13%, while Norwegian rival Statoil (OL:STL) soared 5.18%.
Financial stocks added to gains, as French lenders BNP Paribas (PA:BNPP) and Societe Generale (PA:SOGN) rallied 1.27% and 1.19%, while Germany’s Commerzbank (DE:CBKG) and Deutsche Bank (DE:DBKGn) climbed 0.95% and 0.86%.
Among peripheral lenders, Italy’s Intesa Sanpaolo (MI:ISP) and Unicredit (MI:CRDI) jumped 1.34% and 1.07% respectively, while Spanish banks BBVA (MC:BBVA) and Banco Santander (MC:SAN) advanced 1.07% and 1.20%.
On the downside, Lufthansa AG (DE:LHAG) plummeted 2.84% after the company’s supervisory board approved plans to buy the 55% of Brussels Airlines the German carrier does not own as part of a plan to expand its low-cost airline Eurowings through acquisitions.
In London, commodity-heavy FTSE 100 advanced 1.15%, led by shar gains in the mining and energy sectors.
Mining giants Glencore (LON:GLEN) and Anglo American (LON:AAL) surged 3.34% and 5.28% respectively, while rival company BHP Billiton (LON:BLT) soared 5.65%.
Oil and gas major BP (LON:BP) saw shares rally 4.11%, while Royal Dutch Shell (LON:RDSa) climbed 5.35% following the OPEC news.
Financial stocks were also on the upside, as HSBC Holdings (LON:HSBA) advanced 0.93% and Lloyds Banking (LON:LLOY) jumped 1.01%, while Barclays (LON:BARC) and the Royal Bank of Scotland (LON:RBS) gained 1.31% and 1.36% respectively.
Meanwhile, Capita Plc (LON:CPI) was one of the worst performers on the index, with shares diving 21.84% after the professional services company cut its outlook and reported client delays due to the Brexit vote.
Merlin Entertainments PLC (LON:MERL) added to losses, with shares down 3.90% after saying its London attractions did not benefit from a weaker pound.
In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a steady to higher open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.14% gain, S&P 500 futures showed a 0.06% uptick, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.10% rise.