Investing.com - European stocks turned broadly higher on Wednesday, as comments by Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen continued to support equity markets, while investors turned their attention to the European Central Bank's policy meeting on Thursday.
During European afternoon trade, the DJ Euro Stoxx 50 added 0.18%, France’s CAC 40 edged up 0.07%, while Germany’s DAX rose 0.22%.
Equitiy markets remained supported after Fed Chair Yellen on Monday said that "considerable slack" still remained in the labor market and reiterated that the Fed’s commitment to economic stimulus will still be needed for some time.
Separately, data on Wednesday showed that the number of unemployed people in Spain declined by 16,600 in March, confounding expectations for a 5,300 declined, after 1,900 drop the previous month.
Financial stocks remained broadly higher, as French lenders BNP Paribas (BNPP.PAR) and Societe Generale (SOGN.PAR) gained 0.56% and 0.46%, while Germany's Deutsche Bank (DBKGn.XETRA) and Commerzbank (CBKG.XETRA) surged 1.05% and 2.63%.
Among peripheral lenders, Spanish banks BBVA (BBVA.MADRID) and Banco Santander (SAN.MADRID) rose 0.02% and 0.59%. However, Italy's Intesa Sanpaolo (ISP.MILAN) and Unicredit (CRDI.MILAN) erased earlier gains, dropping 0.93% and 1.37% respectively.
Elsewhere, Volkswagen (VOWG.XETRA) rallied 1.02% following reports the automaker has applied to set up its first car plant in Thailand to compete with Toyota Motor (7203.TOK) in Southeast Asia.
On the downside, Paris-based Bouygues (BOUY.PAR) advanced 0.59% after saying that an earlier version of its proposal for the acquisition of Vivendi (VIV.PAR)'s SFR unit remains valid along with a subsequently revised offer.
In London, commodity-heavy FTSE 100 rose 0.24%, supported by gains in mining stocks. In addition, data showed that the U.K. construction sector continued to expand at a rapid pace in March, while confidence about the 12-month outlook rose to the highest in more than seven years.
Mining giants Glencore Xstrata (GLEN.LSE) and Bhp Billiton (BLT.LSE) gained 0.45% and 1.17%, while rivals Antofagasta (ANTO.LSE) and Fresnillo (FRES.LSE) surged 2.20% and 2.75% respectively.
Also on the upside, Asos (ASOS.LSE) climbed 0.64% after the online fashion retailer posted first-half pretax profit above analysts’ estimates.
In the financial sector, stocks remained mostly higher. The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS.LSE) saw shares gain 0.61%, while Lloyds Banking (LLOY.LSE) and Barclays (BARC.LSE) rallied 1.11% and 1.63%. HSBC Holdings (HSBA.LSE) continued to underperform on the other hand, sliding 0.34%.
In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a higher open. The Dow 30 futures pointed to a 0.19% gain, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.18% rise, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.29% increase.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to release the ADP report on private sector job creation, as well as data on factory orders.