Investing.com - European stocks were steady to higher on Thursday, as news of a new bailout plan for Greece and rising oil prices lent support, although mounting expectations for a June rate hike in the U.S. continued to weigh.
During European morning trade, the EURO STOXX 50 inched 0.01% higher, France’s CAC 40 added 0.23%, while Germany’s DAX 30 rose 0.20%.
Sentiment strengthened after Greece and its creditors reached a deal on Wednesday to unlock €10 billion in bailout funds and trigger work on debt relief, easing concerns over another euro zone debt crisis.
But investors remained cautious amid expectations that the Federal Reserve will interest rates in the near term after last week’s April Fed meeting minutes flagged a possible rate hike if the economy continues to improve.
Meanwhile, oil prices continued to gain ground after the U.S. Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday that crude oil inventories fell by 4.2 million barrels last week. The data came a day after the American Petroleum Institute reported a supply drop of 5.2 million barrels.
Shares in French oil and gas major Total SA (PA:TOTF) were up 0.85% and Italy’s ENI (MI:ENI) advanced 0.51%, while Russian rival Gazprom (MCX:GAZP) rose 0.23%.
Financial stocks were broadly lower, as French lenders BNP Paribas (PA:BNPP) and Societe Generale (PA:SOGN) tumbled 0.97% and 1.23%, while Germany’s Deutsche Bank (DE:DBKGn) and Commerzbank (DE:CBKG) lost 0.67% and 1.29%.
Among peripheral lenders, Italy’s Intesa Sanpaolo (MI:ISP) and Unicredit (MI:CRDI) plummeted 1.36% and 3.32% respectively, while Spanish banks BBVA (MC:BBVA) and Banco Santander (MC:SAN) declined 2.46% and 3.24%.
Elsewhere, Bayer (DE:BAYGN) saw shares slip 0.20% after saying it remained committed to the acquisition of Monsanto (NYSE:MON) Co., despite the U.S. company’s rejection of its $62 billion takeover offer.
In London, commodity-heavy FTSE 100 edged up 0.08%, boosted by gains in the mining sector.
Shares in Fresnillo (LON:FRES) jumped 2.24% and Glencore (LON:GLEN) advanced 2.77%, while BHP Billiton (LON:BLT) rallied 2.96% and Anglo American (LON:AAL) surged 3.34%.
Oil and gas giant BP (LON:BP) added to gains, with shares climbing 0.70%, while rival Royal Dutch Shell (LON:RDSa) advanced 0.86%.
Meanwhile, financial stocks were broadly lower. HSBC Holdings (LON:HSBA) dropped 0.58% and the Royal Bank of Scotland (LON:RBS) declined 0.63%, while Barclays (LON:BARC) and Lloyds Banking (LON:LLOY) lost 0.73% and 0.94% respectively.
Whitbread (LON:WTB) was also on the downside, with shares tumbling 1.56% even after the hotel and restaurant company tried to reassure investors with a dividend hike. It also announced a set of new strategic priorities including expansion in the UK and abroad.
In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a moderately higher open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.10% rise, S&P 500 futures a 0.01% uptick, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.06% gain.