Investing.com - European stocks were higher on Tuesday, supported by hopes of fresh stimulus measures by China after Monday's disappointing manufacturing data, while investors eyed the release of German business climate data later in the trading session.
During European morning trade, the DJ Euro Stoxx 50 climbed 0.78%, France’s CAC 40 gained 0.83%, while Germany’s DAX advanced 0.82%.
Equity markets strengthened amid speculation China could announce fresh stimulus measures to bolster growth after a report on Monday showed that Chinese manufacturing activity deteriorated for a third successive month in March.
European equities had come under pressure on Monday after data showed that German private sector activity slowed in March. The data overshadowed another report showing a return to growth in the bloc’s second largest economy, France.
The pace of the recovery in the euro zone’s private sector slowed slightly in March, but remained close to the previous month’s two-and-a-half year highs.
Financial stocks were broadly higher, as French lenders BNP Paribas (BNPP.PAR) and Societe Generale (SOGN.PAR) jumped 0.97% and 0.85%, while Germany's Deutsche Bank (DBKGn.XETRA) climbed 0.58%.
Among peripheral lenders, Italy's Intesa Sanpaolo (ISP.MILAN) and Unicredit (CRDI.MILAN) advanced 0.62% and 0.98% respectively, while Banco Santander (SAN.MADRID) gained 0.78% in Spain.
Elswehere, Luxottica Group (LUX.MILAN) surged 3.77% after saying it will begin designing Ray-Ban and Oakley glasses that use Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) technology.
German engineering company Siemens (SIEGn.XETRA) was also on the upside, adding 0.16%, after saying it plans to invest £160 million in a wind turbine production plant in Yorkshire, northern England.
In London, commodity-heavy FTSE 100 jumped 0.93%, supported by sharp gains in the mining sector.
Shares in Glencore Xstrata (GLEN.LSE) rallied 1.57% and BHP Billiton (BLT.LSE) advanced 1.58%, while Vedanta Resources (VED.LSE) and Rio Tinto (RIO.LSE) climbed 1.28% and 2.27% respectively.
Meanwhile, U.K. lenders tracked their European counterparts higher. Lloyds Banking (LLOY.LSE) rose 0.45% and Barclays (BARC.LSE) gained 1.05%, while HSBC Holdings (HSBA.LSE) and the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS.LSE) jumped 0.79% and 1.32%.
Easyjet (EZJ.LSE) added to gains, with shares surging 4.45%, after forecasting that its loss will narrow in the six months through March.
In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a moderately higher open. The Dow 30 futures pointed to a 0.13% rise, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.12% gain, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.11% increase.
Later in the day, Germany was to release the Ifo report on business climate. The U.S. was to release report on house price inflation and consumer confidence, as well as official data on new home sales.