Investing.com - European stocks were higher on Thursday, amid growing hopes the European Central Bank will announce additional stimulus measures at its meeting next week, although tensions between Russia and Turkey continued to weigh.
During European morning trade, the EURO STOXX 50 rose 0.33%, France’s CAC 40 added 0.23%, while Germany’s DAX 30 climbed 0.55%.
European equities remained supported after ECB President Marion Draghi said last Friday that the bank is ready to act quickly to boost inflation in the euro zone and can also change the level of its deposit rate to boost the impact of quantitative easing.
But investors remained cautious since news on Tuesday that Turkey shot down a Russian warplane on the Syrian border.
Russian President Vladimir Putin called the downing "a stab in the back," and warned it would have serious consequences for the Russian-Turkish relationship.
Financial stocks were mixed, as French lenders BNP Paribas (PA:BNPP) and Societe Generale (PA:SOGN) eased up 0.07% and 0.10%, while Germany's Deutsche Bank (DE:DBKGn) and Commerzbank (DE:CBKG) slipped 0.09% and 0.16%.
Among peripheral lenders, Unicredit (MI:CRDI) added 0.18% and Intesa Sanpaolo (MI:ISP) edged down 0.19% in Italy, while Spanish banks BBVA (MC:BBVA) and Banco Santander (MC:SAN) dropped 0.58% and 0.75% respectively.
On the upside, Infineon Technologies AG NA O.N. (DE:IFXGn) surged 8.75% after the German semiconductor manufacturer reported better-than-expected operating income.
Elsewhere, Remy Cointreau (PA:RCOP) plummeted 2.22% after the company's profit fell more than analysts had estimated.
In London, commodity-heavy FTSE 100 gained 0.39%, boosted by sharp gains in mining stocks.
Shares in Fresnillo (L:FRES) rallied 1.32% and Antofagasta (L:ANTO) jumped 1.78%, while Rio Tinto (L:RIO) advanced 1.88% and Glencore (L:GLEN) soared 4.22%.
Bhp Billiton (L:BLT) underperformed, with shares tumbling 1.37% after a United Nations probe into a deadly mine spill said steps that the company took to prevent harm weren't sufficient.
Meanwhile, financial stocks were steady to higher. Shares in Lloyds Banking (L:LLOY) and HSBC Holdings (L:HSBA) inched up 0.01% and 0.04% respectively, while the Royal Bank of Scotland (L:RBS) rose 0.20% and Barclays (L:BARC) climbed 0.47%.
In the U.S., equity markets were to remain closed for the Thanksgiving holiday.