Investing.com - European stocks turned broadly higher in subdued trade on Monday, as European Central Bank President Mario Draghi's comments the week before continued to support, while investors continued to eye developments in Ukraine.
During European afternoon trade, the DJ Euro Stoxx 50 climbed 0.51%, France’s CAC 40 added 0.11%, while Germany’s DAX gained 0.89%.
European equities remained supported after ECB President Mario Draghi said last week that the bank is "comfortable" with acting to shore up growth and stop inflation from falling too low at its next meeting in June.
The comments came after the ECB left rates on hold, as widely expected.
But investors remained cautious after pro-Russian separatists claimed victory in a weekend referendum on self-rule in eastern Ukraine, fuelling fears that the country is sliding closer to civil war. The vote has been condemned by Ukraine’s government and the West.
Financial stocks were mixed, as BNP Paribas (PARIS:BNPP) declined 0.59% and Societe Generale (PARIS:SOGN) edged up 0.10% in France, while Germany's Deutsche Bank (XETRA:DBKGn) tumbled 1.04%.
Among peripheral lenders however, Intesa Sanpaolo (MILAN:ISP) slid 0.33% and Unicredit (MILAN:CRDI) climbed 1.08% in Italy, while Spanish banks BBVA (MADRID:BBVA) and Banco Santander (MADRID:SAN) retreated 0.39% and 0.56% respectively.
Elsewhere, Sky Deutschland (XETRA:SKYDn) soared 6.22% after British Sky Broadcasting Group (LONDON:BSY) said it is working on a deal valued at about €10 billion euros to acquire the company.
Adding to gains, Air France -KLM (PARIS:AIRF) rallied 2.23% after saying passenger numbers climbed 1.8% in April.
In London, commodity-heavy FTSE 100 rose 0.37%, still supported by gains in the mining sector.
Shares in Antofagasta (LONDON:ANTO) jumped 2.41% and Bhp Billiton (LONDON:BLT) advanced 2%, while rival companies Rio Tinto (LONDON:RIO) and Vedanta Resources (LONDON:VED) surged 3.03% and 3.94% respectively.
Meanwhile, BSkyB continued to losses on the index, down 2.42%, following reports Rupert Murdoch is seeking a deal to transform the country into a European satellite-TV giant while leaving his U.S.-based Twenty-First Century Fox (NASDAQ:FOX) focused on entertainment programming.
In the financial sector, stocks were mixed. Lloyds Banking (LONDON:LLOY) edged up 0.07% and HSBC Holdings (LONDON:HSBA)jumped 1.09%, while the Royal Bank of Scotland (LONDON:RBS) slipped 0.15% and Barclays (LONDON:BARC) plummeted 1.97%.
In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a moderately higher open. The Dow 30 futures pointed to a 0.14% gain, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.17% rise, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.19% increase.