Investing.com - European stocks opened higher on Tuesday, as a rebound in oil prices helped the energy sector, but gains were expected to remain limited as investors were cautious ahead of the Federal Reserve’s policy statement on Wednesday.
During European morning trade, the EURO STOXX 50 climbed 0.83%, France’s CAC 40 advanced 0.55%, while Germany’s DAX 30 gained 0.71%.
Oil prices bounced back on Tuesday thanks to a weaker U.S. dollar, but gains were capped as Saudi Arabia, Iran and Koweit all announced output increases, adding to concerns over a global supply glut.
Shares in French oil and gas major Total SA (PA:TOTF) climbed 0.48% and Italy’s ENI (MI:ENI) SpA edged up 0.14%. Norwegian rival Statoil ASA (OL:STL) countered the upward trend however, as shares slid 0.66%.
In the financial sector, stocks were broadly higher. French lenders Societe Generale (PA:SOGN) and BNP Paribas (PA:BNPP) advanced 0.66% and 0.83%, while Germany’s Deutsche Bank (DE:DBKGn) and Commerzbank (DE:CBKG) gained 0.56% and 0.83%.
Among peripheral lenders, Italy’s Intesa Sanpaolo (MI:ISP) and Unicredit (MI:CRDI) rallied 0.79% and 1.56% respectively, while Spanish banks Banco Santander (MC:SAN) and BBVA (MC:BBVA) climbed 0.46% and 0.56%.
Elsewhere, Bayer AG NA (DE:BAYGN) jumped 1.05% after the drugmaker reported a 15.7% increase in underlying core earnings for the first quarter.
Safran (PA:SAF) saw shares advanced 1.20% after the engineering company said adjusted revenues climbed 7.8% in the first quarter.
In London, commodity-heavy FTSE 100 edged up 0.11%, supported by gains in the energy sector.
Shares in Royal Dutch Shell (LON:RDSa) added 0.23%, while rival company BP (LON:BP) surged 2.39% despite reporting a pretax loss of $865 million in the first quarter of 2016.
Mining stocks however were broadly lower, as Glencore (LON:GLEN) lost 1.24% and Rio Tinto (LON:RIO) tumbled 1.30%, while Bhp Billiton (LON:BLT) plummeted 1.67% and Anglo American (LON:AAL) dove 2.78%.
Meanwhile, financial stocks were steady to higher. Barclays (LON:BARC) inched up 0.01% HSBC Holdings (LON:HSBA) dipped 0.01%, while the Royal Bank of Scotland (LON:RBS) eased up 0.08% and Lloyds Banking (LON:LLOY) climbed 0.71%.
In earnings news, Whitbread (LON:WTB) reported a 5% increase in pretax profit for the year ended March 3 and raised its dividend by 10%, sending shares in the hotels and coffee-shop operator up 3.26%.
British American Tobacco (LON:BATS) added to gains, with shares jumping 2.31% after the cigarette company said revenue rose by 1.7% in the three months to 31 March.
However, the company also warned that profit growth would be weighted toward the second half of the year, due partly to the impact of foreign exchange.
In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a higher open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.26% gain, S&P 500 futures a 0.26% rise, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.28% increase.