Investing.com – European stocks opened higher on Wednesday with eyes on Wall Street after U.S. stocks managed to recover from a fresh twist in the controversy over U.S. President Donald Trump's alleged connection with Russia, while investors looked ahead to Federal Reserve (Fed) chair Janet Yellen's comments.
After the open in Europe, the benchmark Euro Stoxx 50 gained 0.55%, France’s CAC 40 rose 0.70% and Germany’s DAX 30 traded up 0.44%.
U.S. stocks turned sharply lower on Tuesday after emails disclosed that Trump’s eldest son had welcomed help from a Russian lawyer to get damaging information against rival Hillary Clinton in the 2016 election campaign, but Wall Street managed to pare losses by the end of the session.
Global markets were on watch for Fed chair Janet Yellen’s testimony to Congress as they look for clues on the timing of further removal of accommodative policy. Yellen will testify at 10:00AM ET (14:00GMT) with the text being released earlier at 12:30AM ET (16:30GMT).
On the European economic calendar, the German whole price index stagnated in June missing expectations for a 0.2% rise.
U.K. employment data will be released at 4:30AM ET (8:30GMT) while the euro zone will publish its industrial production data a half an hour later.
On the European company front, both British firm Burberry Group PLC (LON:BRBY) and Norwegian financial services group DnB ASA (OL:DNB) were among top advancers on the Stoxx 600 after better-than-expected earnings.
On the downside, Pearson (LON:PSON) dropped another 5%, following up on the prior day’s declines, as analysts weighed in negatively on the sale of its 22% stake in Penguin Random House.
John Wood Group PLC (LON:WG) was dragged down by the fact that its acquisition target Amec Foster Wheeler PLC (LON:AMFW) was under investigation by the U.K.’s Serious Fraud Office.
Meanwhile, oil prices jumped on Wednesday as the American Petroleum Institute (API) reported that U.S. crude oil inventories fell by 8.1 million barrels.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration will report official figures at 10:30AMET (14:30GMT) amid expectations for a draw of 2.85 million barrels.
European energy stocks traded higher, as French oil and gas major Total SA (PA:TOTF) gained 0.76%, Norwegian rival Statoil (OL:STL) traded up 1.16% and Italy’s ENI (MI:ENI) advanced 1.08%.
Financial stocks also registered gains, as French lenders BNP Paribas (PA:BNPP) and Societe Generale (PA:SOGN) rose 0.66% and 0.71%, respectively, while Germany’s Deutsche Bank (DE:DBKGn) and Commerzbank (DE:CBKG) traded up 0.27% and 0.67%, respectively.
Among peripheral lenders, Italian banks Intesa Sanpaolo (MI:ISP) and rival Unicredit (MI:CRDI) rose 0.28% and 0.99%, respectively, while Spanish banks BBVA (MC:BBVA) and Banco Santander (MC:SAN) edged forward 0.0.01% and 0.14%, respectively.
In London, the commodity-heavy FTSE 100 gained 0.75%, supported by solid gains in mining stocks.
Shares in Glencore (LON:GLEN) rose 1.01%, Anglo American (LON:AAL) advanced 1.15% and BHP Billiton (LON:BLT) traded up 1.07%. Rio Tinto (LON:RIO) broke the general trend, slipping 0.09%.
Energy stocks were on the rise, as BP (LON:BP) gained 1.36% and rival Royal Dutch Shell (LON:RDSa) advanced 1.17%.
Financial stocks moved higher, with shares in HSBC Holdings (LON:HSBA) up 0.21% whiles rivals Royal Bank of Scotland (LON:RBS), Lloyds Banking (LON:LLOY) and Barclays (LON:BARC) traded up 1.17%, 0.58% and 1.04%, respectively.
In the U.S., stock futures pointed to a flat open while waiting for Yellen. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures edged forward 0.03%, S&P 500 futures was unchanged, while the Nasdaq 100 futures inched up 0.01%.