Investing.com - European stocks were steady to higher on Tuesday, as investors continued to focus on developments in Greece and awaited the release of euro zone inflation data due later in the trading session.
During European morning trade, the EURO STOXX 50 added 0.23%, France’s CAC 40 eased up 0.06%, while Germany’s DAX 30 edged 0.07% higher.
Greece was to submit a list of proposed economic reforms to Brussels later Tuesday after missing Monday’s midnight deadline. The reforms must be approved by the country’s lenders in order for Greece to secure the four-month extension to its bailout.
A collapse of the deal would revive concerns over a possible Greek exit from the euro zone.
Investors were cautious as Fed Chair Janet Yellen was to testify before the Senate Banking Committee in Washington later in the day, with market participants watching for any indication on when U.S. interest rates may start to rise.
Financial stocks were broadly higher, as French lenders BNP Paribas (PARIS:BNPP) and Societe Generale (PARIS:SOGN) gained 0.52% and 0.96%, while Germany's Commerzbank (XETRA:CBKG) climbed 0.55%.
Among peripheral lenders, Italy's Intesa Sanpaolo (MILAN:ISP) and Unicredit (MILAN:CRDI) rose 0.27% and 0.64% respectively, while Spanish banks Banco Santander (MADRID:SAN) and BBVA (MADRID:BBVA) advanced 0.33% and 0.57%.
Also on the upside, Finmeccanica (MILAN:SIFI) surged 2.37% after Hitachi Ltd. agreed to buy the Italian company’s rail businesses and a signals affiliate for about €809 million.
In London, commodity-heavy FTSE 100 inched up 0.02% led by Bhp Billiton (LONDON:BLT), whose shares soared 3.85% after the mining giant reported first-half earnings that exceeded analysts' estimates amid plans to cut project spending to the lowest since 2010.
Rival companies Glencore Xstrata (LONDON:GLEN) and Anglo American (LONDON:AAL) added to gains, with shares climbing 0.71% and 0.92% respectively.
Financial stocks were also mostly higher, as the Royal Bank of Scotland (LONDON:RBS) edged up 0.10% and Barclays (LONDON:BARC) rose 0.35%, while Lloyds Banking (LONDON:LLOY) gained 0.51%.
HSBC Holdings (LONDON:HSBA) held steady, inching up just 0.02%. The stock had plunged on Monday after the U.K. lender confirmed that its chief executive Stuart Gulliver uses a Swiss bank account to hold his bonuses.
Elsewhere, Drax Group (LONDON:DRX) tumbled 1.99% after the electrical power generation company forecast capital investment of about £150 million this year.
In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a steady open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.07% rise, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.04% uptick, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.06% gain.
Later in the day, the euro zone was to release revised data on consumer price inflation, while the U.S. was to produce a private sector report on consumer confidence.