Investing.com - European stocks were higher in quiet trade on Monday, as last week's announcement by the European Central Bank of a fresh round of stimulus measures continued to support equity markets.
During European morning trade, the DJ Euro Stoxx 50 rose 0.26%, France’s CAC 40 inched 0.06% higher, while Germany’s DAX edged up 0.10%.
European equities found support after the ECB last Thursday cut the main refinancing rate in the euro area to a record low 0.15% and imposed negative deposit rates on commercial lenders, in a bid to stimulate lending to businesses.
The bank also implemented a new Long-Term Refinancing Operation, designed to help banks lend to small companies and said it would "intensify" its preparatory work on the 'asset-backed security' market.
The ECB acted after a report on Wednesday showed that the annual rate of inflation in the euro zone slowed to 0.5% in May, well below the bank’s target of close to but just under 2%.
Financial stocks were broadly higher, as French lenders Societe Generale (PARIS:SOGN) and BNP Paribas (PARIS:BNPP) jumped 1.04% and 1.14%, while Germany's Commerzbank (XETRA:CBKG) rallied 1.38%.
Among peripheral lenders, Spanish banks BBVA (MADRID:BBVA) and Banco Santander (MADRID:SAN) gained 0.65% and 1.13% respectively, while Italy's Unicredit (MILAN:CRDI) and Intesa Sanpaolo (MILAN:ISP) surged 1.44% and 1.91%.
Elsewhere, Deutsche Telekom (XETRA:DTEGn) climbed 0.49% after saying it may increase disclosure on government wiretapping after Vodafone (LONDON:VOD) last week released its law-enforcement transparency report. Deutsche Telekom has 145 million wireless customers in Europe and the U.S.
In London, FTSE 100 added 0.21%, supported by gains in the financial sector.
Shares in HSBC Holdings (LONDON:HSBA) edged up 0.17% and Barclays (LONDON:BARC) jumped 1.04%, while the Royal Bank of Scotland (LONDON:RBS) rallied 1.28%. Lloyds Banking (LONDON:LLOY) underperformed however, sliding 0.85%.
Mining stocks were also on the upside, as Glencore Xstrata (LONDON:GLEN) gained 0.37% and Rio Tinto (LONDON:RIO) rose 0.36%, while rivals Vedanta Resources (LONDON:VED) and Bhp Billiton (LONDON:BLT) advanced 0.60% and 0.74% respectively.
Vodafone added to gains, up 0.91%, in the wake of its law-enforcement transparency report published last week in which it says 29 governments from Albania to the U.K. asked for access to its network or user data.
Meanwhile, Centrica (LONDON:CNA) declined 0.55% amid reports the energy provider is in talks with Qatar for cooperation in some U.K. projects.
In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a moderately lower open. The Dow 30 futures pointed to a 0.08% loss, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.11% decline, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.09% fall.