Investing.com - European stocks were higher on Thursday, as concerns over political instability in Greece and new restrictions on China’s debt markets began to subside and as the European Central Bank was set to issue a second round of long-term loans to the region's banks.
During European morning trade, the EURO STOXX 50 climbed 0.59%, France’s CAC 40 advanced 0.47%, while Germany’s DAX 30 gained 0.48%.
European equities were hit earlier in the week by a surprise decision by the Greek government to bring forward a parliamentary vote for president to next week from February.
The move raised the prospect of snap elections if Prime Minister Antonis Samaras’ candidate is not approved by parliament, which could see the anti-bailout Syriza party take power.
Markets were also jittery after a Chinese government decision on Tuesday to set new restrictions on collateral for short-term loans. The move fuelled fears that the world’s second-largest economy is slowing at a faster rate than anticipated.
Financial stocks were mixed, as French lenders BNP Paribas (PARIS:BNPP) and Societe Generale (PARIS:SOGN) slipped 0.16% and 0.38%, while Germany's Deutsche Bank (XETRA:DBKGn) and Commerzbank (XETRA:CBKG) gained 0.70% and 0.22%.
Among peripheral lenders, Intesa Sanpaolo dipped 0.04 and Unicredit climbed 0.40% in Italy, while Spanish banks BBVA and Banco Santander rose 0.04% and 0.44% respectively.
Elsewhere, Telefonica, up 0.85%, Oi SA (SA:OIBR3), up 0.86% and Claro SA were reportedly planning to make an offer for Tim Participacoes SA (SA:TIMP3), whose shares surged 11.30%. The deal would value Tim at about $15 billion.
Telecom Italia (MILAN:TLIT), who owns a 67% stake in the Brazilian mobile-phone company, saw shares rally 5.20% following the news.
In London, commodity-heavy FTSE 100 added 0.25%, boosted by energy companies.
Shares in Royal Dutch Shell A jumped 1.39% and Tullow Oil Plc (LONDON:TLW) rallied 1.59%, while BP Plc (LONDON:BP) saw shares advance 1.44% and Petrofac surged 1.60%, leading gains on the index.
Financial stocks added to gains, as Barclays egded up 0.09% and Lloyds Banking (LONDON:LLOY) rose 0.11%, while HSBC Holdings Plc (LONDON:HSBA) added 0.19%. The Royal Bank of Scotland (LONDON:RBS) underperformed however, down 0.34%.
RBS had announced on Wednesday that it plans to pull out of fixed-income trading in Japan and cut staff numbers by more than 200 to about 30, with most of the jobs going by February.
Meanwhile, Tesco shares climbed 0.40% even as Standard & Poor's placed the retailer's credit status on negative CreditWatch.
Mining stocks were broadly lower on the other hand, with Glencore Xstrata sliding 0.57% and Anglo American down 1.12%, while Randgold Resources was the worst performer on the index with shares plummeting 2.56%.
In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a higher open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.37% rise, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.42% increase, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.32% gain.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to release data on retail sales, as well as the weekly report on jobless claims.