Investing.com - European stocks were higher on Thursday, boosted by the Federal Reserve's latest policy statement, as well as a batch of upbeat corporate earnings reports.
During European morning trade, the EURO STOXX 50 rose 0.32%, France’s CAC 40 added 0.39%, while Germany’s DAX 30 gained 0.53%.
Equity markets strengthened after the Fed gave no clear indication of the timing of the next rate hike, but left itself room to act as early as September, citing continued "solid" gains in the job market.
At the conclusion of the Fed's two-day policy meeting on Wednesday, the central bank said policy makers voted unanimously to keep U.S. interest rates unchanged and reiterated their dependency on data to determine plans for tightening monetary policy.
Financial stocks were broadly higher, as French lenders Societe Generale (PARIS:SOGN) and BNP Paribas (PARIS:BNPP) gained 0.41% and 1.14%, while Germany's Commerzbank (XETRA:CBKG) and Deutsche Bank (XETRA:DBKGn) advanced 0.99% and 3.11%.
Deutsche Bank earlier reported that second-quarter profit more than tripled.
Among peripheral lenders, Italy's Intesa Sanpaolo (MILAN:ISP) and Unicredit (MILAN:CRDI) rose 0.26% and 0.29% respectively, while Spanish bank BBVA (MADRID:BBVA) gained 0.35%.
Elsewhere, Electricite de France SA (PARIS:EDF) surged 2.51% after saying that first-half earnings increased and that it agreed to take control of Areva SA’s nuclear business.
Adding to gains, Spain's Telefonica (MADRID:TEF) SA advanced 0.76% after its second-quarter sales exceeded projections.
In London, FTSE 100 climbed 0.58%, boosted by Royal Dutch Shell (LONDON:RDSa), whose shares rallied 2.59%, after the company announced plans to cut 6,500 jobs.
Financial stocks were also broadly higher, as HSBC Holdings (LONDON:HSBA) rose 0.38% and Lloyds Banking (LONDON:LLOY) gained 0.81%, while Barclays (LONDON:BARC) jumped 1.22%. The Royal Bank of Scotland (LONDON:RBS) surged 2.69% after unexpectedly posting a profit.
Also on the upside, AstraZeneca PLC (LONDON:AZN) rallied 1.88% after reporting quarterly earnings and sales that exceeded analysts’ estimates.
Meanwhile, mining stocks were mostly lower. Glencore (LONDON:GLEN) dropped 0.62% and Fresnillo (LONDON:FRES) lost 0.77%, while Antofagasta (LONDON:ANTO) retreated 0.82%.
In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a steady open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.07% dip, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.07% downtick, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.03% gain.