Investing.com - European stocks opened mostly higher on Thursday, as market sentiment remained strong ahead of the highly anticipated British vote on a potential exit from the European Union, or Brexit.
During European morning trade, the EURO STOXX 50 eased 0.09%, France’s CAC 40 climbed 0.62%, while Germany’s DAX 30 rose 0.22%.
Sentiment strengthened after polls by ComRes, conducted for the Daily Mail newspaper and ITV (LON:ITV) television, and by YouGov for The Times newspaper in London, showed a last-minute rise in support for Britain to remain in the EU.
The vote on a potential Brexit was set to take place between 0600-2100 GMT on Thursday, with results expected on Friday morning.
Financial stocks were broadly higher, as French lenders Societe Generale (PA:SOGN) and BNP Paribas (PA:BNPP) jumped 1.55% and 1.41%, while Germany’s Commerzbank (DE:CBKG) and Deutsche Bank (DE:DBKGn) climbed 0.54% and 2.07%.
Among peripheral lenders, Italy’s Unicredit (MI:CRDI) and Intesa Sanpaolo (MI:ISP) advanced 0.63% and 0.89% respectively, while Spanish banks Banco Santander (MC:SAN) and BBVA (MC:BBVA) rose 0.27% and 0.28%.
Energy stocks added to gains as oil prices rebounded from losses posted on Wednesday after the U.S. Energy Information Administration reported a smaller than expected fall in U.S. inventories last week.
French oil and gas major Total SA (PA:TOTF) gained 0.66% and Italy’s ENI (MI:ENI) advanced 0.78%, while Norwegian rival Statoil (OL:STL) added 0.21%.
Elsewhere, Volkswagen (DE:VOWG_p) saw shares jump 0.95% a day after shareholders finally had the opportunity to express criticism of the carmaker’s management following the emissions-cheating scandal.
In London, FTSE 100 climbed 0.80%, led by Tesco (LON:TSCO), whose shares surged 3.35% after the supermarket said U.K. like-for-like sales rose by 0.3% in the 13 weeks to 28 May.
The company also said it agreed to sell its Harris & Hoole coffee shop chain to Caffe Nero.
Mining stocks added to gains on the commodity-heavy index. Shares in BHP Billiton (LON:BLT) jumoed 1.17% and Anglo American (LON:AAL) rallied 1.24%, while Rio Tinto (LON:RIO) advanced 1.40% and Glencore (LON:GLEN) surged 3.01%.
Financial stocks were also on the upside, as Lloyds Banking (LON:LLOY) added 0.25% and Barclays (LON:BARC) gained 0.43%, while HSBC Holdings (LON:HSBA) and the Royal Bank of Scotland (LON:RBS) climbed 0.54% and 0.73% respectively.
Meanwhile, BAE Systems (LON:BAES) dropped 0.70% after IBC Advanced Alloys Corp. announced a joint development contract with the U.K. defence company for production of prototype articles for BAE.
In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a higher open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.45% climb, S&P 500 futures a 0.49% gain, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.50% increase.