Investing.com - European stocks were mostly higher on Thursday, despite ongoing U.S. political concerns and mounting uncertainty over the outcome of the upcoming U.K. general elections.
During European morning trade, the EURO STOXX 50 dipped 0.01%, France’s CAC 40 advanced 0.45%, while Germany’s DAX 30 gained 0.27%.
Investors remained cautious amid ongoing fears investigations into President Donald Trump's ties with Russia could hamper his administration's progress on promised stimulus measures.
The Trump administration is under investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and several congressional panels over alleged Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election and potential collusion with the Trump campaign.
Markets were also jittery after the latest YouGov poll released on Wednesday showed that Theresa May's Conservative Party is only 3 percentage points in front of the opposition Labour Party ahead of the June 8 election.
Financial stocks were mixed, as BNP Paribas (PA:BNPP) dropped 0.56% and Societe Generale (PA:SOGN) edged up 0.13% in France, while Germany’s Commerzbank (DE:CBKG) and Deutsche Bank (DE:DBKGn) declined 0.62% and 1.73%.
Among peripheral lenders, Italy’s Intesa Sanpaolo (MI:ISP) and Unicredit (MI:CRDI) lost 0.17% and 1.50% respectively, while Spanish banks BBVA (MC:BBVA) and Banco Santander (MC:SAN) edged up 0.11% and 0.17%.
Elsewhere, shares in Deutsche Telekom (DE:DTEGn) dove 2.75% after the company said it is optimistic about the regulatory environment in the United States under the Trump administration.
On the upside, Linde AG (DE:LING) jumped 1.22% as the company’s merger with U.S. group Praxair (NYSE:PX) seems more likely now that German labor opposition has started to waver.
Vivendi (PA:VIV) added to gains, with shares up 1.55% after the Brussels competition regulator on Tuesday approved the French company’s controversial plans to take de facto control of Telecom Italia (MI:TLIT) on the condition that it sells its stake in broadcasting company Persidera.
In London, FTSE 100 gained 0.46%, helped by DCC (LON:DCC), whose shares rallied 1.46% after the energy and technology group said it completed the disposal of its environmental division to a private equity firm.
Astrazeneca (LON:AZN) was also on the upside, with shares climbing 1.72% after its brand Neksium was acquired by U.S. drugmaker Pfizer (NYSE:PFE).
Financial stocks were mostly higher, as Lloyds Banking (LON:LLOY) eased up 0.07% and HSBC Holdings (LON:HSBA) rose 0.35%, while Barclays (LON:BARC) gained 0.69%. The Royal Bank of Scotland (LON:RBS) underperformed however, with shares down 1.04%.
Meanwhile, mining stocks were broadly lower on the commodity-heavy index. Shares in Rio Tinto (LON:RIO) slid 0.31% and Glencore (LON:GLEN) dropped 0.37%, while rival BHP Billiton (LON:BLT) declined 0.38%.
National Grid (LON:NG) was one of the worst performers on the index, as shares plummeted 2.98% even as the company insisted this week that it can cope with increasing amounts of solar energy used in the UK energy – the technology set a new generation record last week.
In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a steady to higher open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.05% uptick, S&P 500 futures showed a 0.07% gain, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.23% rise.