Investing.com - European stocks were higher on Monday, as market sentiment improved despite persistant concerns over Greece's debt woes and as trading volumes were expected to remain thin with no major euro zone or U.S. data to be released throughout the day.
During European morning trade, the EURO STOXX 50 climbed 0.61%, France’s CAC 40 gained 0.67%, while Germany’s DAX 30 advanced 0.75%.
Investors remained cautious amid concerns that Athens is no closer to reaching an agreement on economic reforms for bailout funds with its creditors, fuelling fears that Greece could be forced out of the euro zone.
Financial stocks were broadly higher, as French lenders BNP Paribas (PARIS:BNPP) and Societe Generale (PARIS:SOGN) rallied 1.07% and 1.37%, while Germany's Commerzbank (XETRA:CBKG) and Deutsche Bank (XETRA:DBKGn) jumped 1.51% and 1.53%.
Among peripheral lenders, Italy's Intesa Sanpaolo (MILAN:ISP) and Unicredit (MILAN:CRDI) advanced 0.77% and 1.54% respectively, while Spanish bank Banco Santander (MADRID:SAN) rose 0.30%.
Elsewhere, Belgian cable company Telenet Group Holding surged 3.83% after agreeing to buy Royal KPN NV’s Belgian mobile-phone business Base for €1.33 billion.
In London, commodity-heavy FTSE 100 advanced 0.90%, boosted by sharp gains in mining stocks.
Mining giants Rio Tinto (LONDON:RIO) and Glencore Xstrata (LONDON:GLEN) saw shares rally 1.50% and 1.56%, while rival Anglo American (LONDON:AAL) surged 2.45%, leading gains on the index.
Financial stocks were also on the upside, as Lloyds Banking (LONDON:LLOY) and Barclays (LONDON:BARC) climbed 0.76% and 0.83% respectively, while the Royal Bank of Scotland (LONDON:RBS) gained 1% and HSBC Holdings (LONDON:HSBA) jumped 1.32%.
Meanwhile, shares in Tesco (LONDON:TSCO) Plc edged up just 0.08% after the Financial Times reported that the retailer may post an annual loss of as much as £5 billion. The company is scheduled to report full-year results on April 22.
In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a higher open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.60% increase, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.62% climb, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.51% gain.