Investing.com - European stocks remained broadly higher on Wednesday, although gains were expected to be limited as tensions in Ukraine and violence in the Gaza Strip continued to dominate investors' attention.
During European afternoon trade, the DJ Euro Stoxx 50 rose 0.38%, France’s CAC 40 gained 0.40%, while Germany’s DAX climbed 0.52%.
Investors remained cautious after the European Union threatened Russia on Tuesday with harsher sanctions over Ukraine, while fighting in the Gaza Strip continued.
EU ministers announced an agreement to widen the list of individuals and entities targeted by asset freezes and visa bans. The U.S. had hoped for stricter penalties to push Moscow into cooperating with an international investigation into the downed Malaysian jet.
Separately, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry pressed Hamas for a truce in fighting between Israel and militants on the Gaza Strip.
Financial stocks turned broadly higher, as French lenders BNP Paribas (PARIS:BNPP) and Societe Generale (PARIS:SOGN) gained 0.71% and 1.19%, while Germany's Commerzbank (XETRA:CBKG) advanced 0.93%.
Deutsche Bank (XETRA:DBKGn) tumbled 1.15% however, after the Wall Street Journal said bank overseers faulted some of the lender's U.S. businesses last year for “inaccurate and unreliable” financial reports.
Among peripheral lenders, Italy's Intesa Sanpaolo (MILAN:ISP) and Unicredit (MILAN:CRDI) jumped 1.26% and 1.56% respectively, while Spanish bank BBVA (MADRID:BBVA) climbed 0.56%.
Elsewhere, Repsol (MADRID:REP) dropped 0.80% amid reports the Spanish oil and gaz giant is exploring a bid for Talisman Energy (TO:TLM), in a move to deploy cash received as compensation for the loss of its stake in Argentina's YPF.
STMicroelectronics (PARIS:STM) added to losses, down 3.71%, even after reporting its first profit in 11 quarters. The company also said that revenue dropped 8.9% to $1.86 billion.
In London, commodity-heavy FTSE 100 added 0.17%, still supported by gains in the mining sector.
Shares in Rio Tinto (LONDON:RIO) climbed 0.87% and Glencore Xstrata (LONDON:GLEN) advanced 0.84%, while rivals Bhp Billiton (LONDON:BLT) and Antofagasta (LONDON:ANTO) jumped 0.84% and 1.02% respectively.
Meanwhile, financial stocks turned higher, as Barclays (LONDON:BARC) and the Royal Bank of Scotland (LONDON:RBS) rose 0.24% and 0.28%, while HSBC Holdings (LONDON:HSBA) gained 0.30% and Lloyds Banking (LONDON:LLOY) climbed 0.65%.
In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a higher open. The Dow 30 futures pointed to a 0.13% gain, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.13% rise, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.14% increase.