Investing.com - European stocks opened higher on Monday, as concerns over geopolitical tensions around the globe began to subside, boosting demand for riskier assets.
During European morning trade, the DJ Euro Stoxx 50 advanced 0.70%, France’s CAC 40 climbed 0.42%, while Germany’s DAX jumped 0.96%.
Market sentiment improved after the U.S. launched airstrikes in Iraq on Friday, in a bid to halt the advance of extremists in the country’s north.
Also in the Middle-East, Israel and the Palestinians agreed on Sunday to an Egyptian proposal for a new 72-hour ceasefire in Gaza.
Meanwhile, fears over hostilities between Russia and Ukraine eased after Russia’s defense ministry on Friday said it had concluded military exercises it was holding close to the border with Ukraine.
Financial stocks were broadly higher, as French lenders BNP Paribas (PARIS:BNPP) and Societe Generale (PARIS:SOGN) rose 0.33% and 0.66%, while Germany's Commerzbank (XETRA:CBKG) jumped 1.54%.
Among peripheral lenders, Italy's Unicredit (MILAN:CRDI) and Intesa Sanpaolo (MILAN:ISP) gained 0.58% and 1.22% respectively, while Spanish banks Banco Santander (MADRID:SAN) and BBVA (MADRID:BBVA) advanced 0.43% and 0.67%.
Elsewhere, shares in Sanofi (PARIS:SASY) climbed 0.54% after the Paris-based drugmaker agreed to pay MannKind Corporation (NASDAQ:MNKD) $925 million for rights to the world’s only available inhaled insulin less than seven weeks after the drug won regulatory approval in the U.S.
In London, commodity-heavy FTSE 100 gained 0.49%, supported by sharp gains in the mining sector.
Shares in Bhp Billiton (LONDON:BLT) climbed 0.55% and Glencore Xstrata (LONDON:GLEN) jumped 0.90%, while rivals Vedanta Resources (LONDON:VED) and Rio Tinto (LONDON:RIO) rallied 1.83% and 1.92% respectively.
Financial stocks were also mostly higher, as HSBC Holdings (LONDON:HSBA) edged up 0.18% and Barclays (LONDON:BARC) added 0.25%, while Lloyds Banking (LONDON:LLOY) advanced 0.52%. The Royal Bank of Scotland (LONDON:RBS) underperformed on the other hand, dropping 0.80%.
Meanwhile, Balfour Beatty (LONDON:BALF) surged 1.24% after the infrastructure group rejected a renewed merger proposal by Carillion Plc (LONDON:CLLN) to form the U.K.’s biggest builder with a market valuation of about £3 billion following a dispute over whether to dispose of the Parsons Brinckerhoff division.
In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a higher open. The Dow 30 futures pointed to a 0.17% rise, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.17% gain, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.25% increase.