Investing.com - European stocks opened sharply higher on Thursday, as markets continued to come to terms with Donald Trump’s election victory on Wednesday.
During European morning trade, the EURO STOXX 50 rallied 1.58%, France’s CAC 40 advanced 1.22%, while Germany’s DAX 30 jumped 1.23%.
Global equity bounced higher as investors began to think that a Trump presidency may not be as bad for financial markets as initially expected.
Donald Trump was declared the 45th U.S. President on Wednesday, confounding expectations for a Democratic victory.
Financial stocks were sharply higher, as French lenders BNP Paribas (PA:BNPP) and Societe Generale (PA:SOGN) surged 3.61% and 4.82%, while Germany’s Deutsche Bank (DE:DBKGn) and Commerzbank (DE:CBKG) rallied 3.30% and 5.18%.
Among peripheral lenders, Italy’s Intesa Sanpaolo (MI:ISP) and Unicredit (MI:CRDI) soared 3.81% and 4.57%, while Spanish banks Banco Santander (MC:SAN) and BBVA (MC:BBVA) gained 2.53% and 1.55%.
Zurich Insurance Group AG (SIX:ZURN) added to gains, with shares up 1.77% after the company posted a better than expected third-quarter net profit of $912 million.
Siemens AG (DE:SIEGn) surged 3.89% after the German engineering group reported said third-quarter net income climbed 20%.
In London, FTSE 100 jumped 1.05%, as U.K. lenders tracked their European counterparts higher.
Shares in HSBC Holdings (LON:HSBA) rallied 1.51% and Lloyds Banking (LON:LLOY) advanced 2.56%, while the Royal Bank of Scotland (LON:RBS) and Barclays (LON:BARC) soared 4.71% and 5.69% respectively.
Mining stocks were also mostly higher on the commodity-heavy index. BHP Billiton (LON:BLT) jumped 2.58% and Rio Tinto (LON:RIO) rallied 3.83%, while Glencore (LON:GLEN) climbed 4.14% and Antofagasta (LON:ANTO) surged 5.85%.
Meanwhile, Mediclinic International PLC (LON:MDCM) was one of the worst performers on the index, with shares plummeting 3.80% after the company said earnings per share dropped by 26%.
In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a higher open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.88% gain, S&P 500 futures showed a 0.82% increase, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 1.12% jump.