Investing.com - European stocks were higher on Tuesday, although concerns over ongoing tensions in Iraq continued to weigh and as investors eyed the release of data on German economic sentiment later in the trading session.
During European morning trade, the DJ Euro Stoxx 50 gained 0.41%, France’s CAC 40 advanced 0.47%, while Germany’s DAX jumped 0.92%.
Concerns over the ongoing Sunni insurgency in Iraq continued to weigh on market sentiment, amid fears over the impact of higher oil prices on global economic growth.
On Monday, Eurostat said consumer price inflation rose 0.5% last month, in line with expectations and unchanged from a preliminary estimate. Euro zone inflation rose by 0.7% in April.
The rate remains firmly below the European Central Bank's target of near but just below 2%.
Financial stocks were broadly higher, as French lenders Societe Generale (PARIS:SOGN) and BNP Paribas (PARIS:BNPP) gained 0.40% and 0.54%, while Germany's Deutsche Bank (XETRA:DBKGn) eased up 0.04%.
Among peripheral lenders, Italy's Intesa Sanpaolo (MILAN:ISP) and Unicredit (MILAN:CRDI) advanced 0.61% and 0.90% respectively, while Spanish bank Banco Santander (MADRID:SAN) climbed 0.58%.
Elsewhere, Siemens (XETRA:SIEGn) rose 0.28% as French President Francois Hollande was set to meet with the German company's President, Joe Kaeser, and with Shunishi Miyanaga, CEO of Japan's Mitsubishi (TOKYO:8058) later in the day.
Both companies presented a joint offer to France's Alstom (PARIS:ALSO) on Monday that included a €7 billion cash element, competing with a rival offer by General Electric (NYSE:GE).
In London, FTSE 100 added 0.15%, led by Shire (LONDON:SHP), up 3.59%, amid reports the pharmaceutical company has hired Citigroup (NYSE:C) ahead of potential takeover offers.
Whitbread (LONDON:WTB) wasn't far behind, with shares rallying 3.51%, after it said that sales at its Premier Inn hotels and Costa Coffee chain exceeded analysts' estimates.
Meanwhile, financial stocks were mixed as Barclays (LONDON:BARC) dipped 0.02% and the Royal Bank of Scotland (LONDON:RBS) eased 0.03%, while Barclays (LONDON:BARC) inched up 0.03% and Lloyds Banking (LONDON:LLOY) advanced 0.73%.
In the mining sector, stocks were mostly lower. Shares in Rio Tinto (LONDON:RIO) slipped 0.18% and Vedanta Resources (LONDON:VED) declined 0.72%, while Bhp Billiton (LONDON:BLT) tumbled 1.05%.
In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a higher open. The Dow 30 futures pointed to a 0.28% increase, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.25% rise, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.25% gain.
Later in the day, the ZEW Institute was to release its closely watched report on German economic sentiment, while the U.S. was to produce data on housing starts, building permits and consumer prices.