Investing.com - European stocks were sharply higher on Thursday, as growing expectations for additional easing measures by the European Central Bank lent broad support and overshadowed the ongoing rout in oil prices.
During European morning trade, the EURO STOXX 50 rallied 1.05%, France’s CAC 40 climbed 1.04%, while Germany’s DAX 30 jumped 1.14%.
European equities strengthened after an interim ruling by the European Court of Justice on Wednesday was seen as clearing the way for the ECB to implement quantitative easing measures at its upcoming meeting on January 22.
The advocate general of the European Court of Justice, Pedro Cruz Villalon, advised judges to approve the ECB's Outright Monetary Transactions program, a measure which was launched in 2012.
Oil was hit after the World Bank cut its forecasts for global growth on Tuesday, adding to fears over the faltering economic recovery. The rout in oil, which has halved in value in six months, has fuelled concerns of exacerbating already low levels of inflation in many major world economies.
Financial stocks were broadly higher, as French lenders BNP Paribas (PARIS:BNPP) and Societe Generale (PARIS:SOGN) rallied 1.95% and 1.88%, while Germany's Deutsche Bank (XETRA:DBKGn) and Commerzbank (XETRA:CBKG) advanced 1.99% and 0.86%.
Among peripheral lenders, Italy's Unicredit and Intesa Sanpaolo jumped 1.79% and 1.80% respectively, while Spanish banks Banco Santander and BBVA climbed 1.28% and 1.84%.
Elsewhere, Compagnie Financiere Richemont SA (SIX:CFR) saw shares retreat 0.73% after the Swiss luxury jewelry maker reported that third-quarter revenue growth stagnated for the first time in six years as protests in Hong Kong disrupted sales in the biggest market for Swiss watches.
In London, FTSE 100 advanced 1.08%, led by Experian Plc (LONDON:EXPN), up 3.76% after the company reported that total revenue from continuing activities in the three months to December fell 1%.
Financial stocks added to gains, as HSBC Holdings (LONDON:HSBA) climbed 0.86% and Lloyds Banking (LONDON:LLOY) jumped 1.06%, while the Royal Bank of Scotland (LONDON:RBS) and Barclays surged 1.86% and 2.26% respectively.
In the mining sector, stocks were mixed. Shares in Glencore Xstrata (LONDON:GLEN) and Bhp Billiton rallied 1.16% and 2.57%, while Fresnillo (LONDON:FRES) dropped 0.43%.
In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a lower open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.69% decline, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.67% drop, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.75% loss.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to publish the weekly report on initial jobless claims as well as data on producer prices and manufacturing activity in the Philadelphia region.