Investing.com – European stocks were up on Thursday, ahead of key interest rate decisions by the European Central Bank and the Bank of England; meanwhile U.S. futures indexes pointed to a higher open on Wall Street ahead of the release of official U.S. jobs data.
During European morning trade, the EURO STOXX 50 gained 0.27%; France’s CAC 40 increased 0.24%; and Germany's DAX was up 0.14%.
Financial sector stocks gained ahead of the release of key monetary policy decisions from the ECB and BoE later in the day.
French lender Societe Generale saw its shares rise 1.37%, Italian banker Unicredito gained 0.87% and German-based financial service provider AXA climbed 1.07%.
In deal news, French auto-maker Renault SA announced it would sell a 14.9% stake in Volvo AB for approximately EUR 3 billion. Following the news, Renault shares jumped 6.64% while Volvo saw its shares tumble 6.73%.
In London, the commodity heavy FTSE 100 was up 0.13% as commodity-linked shares were mixed amid rising metal prices.
Shares in the world’s largest miner BHP Billiton climbed 1.20%, Xstrata fell 1.01% while Kazakhmys saw its shares tumble 3.88% after Orleans Trade & Investment Corp. announced it would sell a 1.75% stake in the mining company.
The outlook for U.S. equity markets, meanwhile, was upbeat: Dow Jones Industrial Average futures indicated a gain of 0.09%, S&P 500 futures pointed to an increase of 0.10% and Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a rise of 0.03%.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to release key weekly data on initial jobless claims.
During European morning trade, the EURO STOXX 50 gained 0.27%; France’s CAC 40 increased 0.24%; and Germany's DAX was up 0.14%.
Financial sector stocks gained ahead of the release of key monetary policy decisions from the ECB and BoE later in the day.
French lender Societe Generale saw its shares rise 1.37%, Italian banker Unicredito gained 0.87% and German-based financial service provider AXA climbed 1.07%.
In deal news, French auto-maker Renault SA announced it would sell a 14.9% stake in Volvo AB for approximately EUR 3 billion. Following the news, Renault shares jumped 6.64% while Volvo saw its shares tumble 6.73%.
In London, the commodity heavy FTSE 100 was up 0.13% as commodity-linked shares were mixed amid rising metal prices.
Shares in the world’s largest miner BHP Billiton climbed 1.20%, Xstrata fell 1.01% while Kazakhmys saw its shares tumble 3.88% after Orleans Trade & Investment Corp. announced it would sell a 1.75% stake in the mining company.
The outlook for U.S. equity markets, meanwhile, was upbeat: Dow Jones Industrial Average futures indicated a gain of 0.09%, S&P 500 futures pointed to an increase of 0.10% and Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a rise of 0.03%.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to release key weekly data on initial jobless claims.