Investing.com - European markets opened higher on Wednesday, as investors were looking ahead to a fresh batch of coroporate earnings reports, as well as a preliminary report on euro zone economic growth due later in the day.
The EURO STOXX 50 rose 0.37%, France’s CAC 40 gained 0.39%, while Germany’s DAX 30 was up 0.63% by 03:35 a.m. ET (07:35 GMT).
Financial stocks were higher, as French lenders BNP Paribas (PA:BNPP) and Societe Generale (PA:SOGN) gained 0.41% and 0.79%, while Germany's Commerzbank (DE:CBKG) and Deutsche Bank (DE:DBKGn) rallied 0.74% and 1.05%.
Among peripheral lenders, Italy's Unicredit (MI:CRDI) climbed 0.55%, while Spanish banks BBVA (MC:BBVA) and Banco Santander (MC:SAN) advanced 0.67% and 0.62% respectively.
Credit Suisse (SIX:CSGN) saw shares surge 2.37% after the bank reported a net loss of 983 million Swiss francs for 2017, citing the weight of U.S. tax write-downs. This was its third consecutive annual loss.
France's Credit Agricole (PA:CAGR) underperformed, with shares down 2.15% even as the lender reported a 33% increase in fourth-quarter profits.
Elsewhere, Thyssenkrupp AG O.N. (DE:TKAG) rose 0.39% after the German industrial group said first-quarter operating profit had risen by more than a third, helped by a recovery in its steel unit.
In London, FTSE 100 advanced 0.55%, boosted by Coca Cola HBC AG (LON:CCH), whose shares surged 3.27% after the company reported a rise in full-year sales and profits thanks to volume increases and pricing.
Sky Plc (LON:SKYB) wasn't far behind, with shares up 3.08% following news it and BT Sport agreed to pay £4.464 billion to broadcast Premier League football games for three seasons from 2019 to 2020.
Mining stocks added to gains on the commodity-heavy index, as Rio Tinto (LON:RIO) added 0.10% and Anglo American (LON:AAL) edged up 0.13%, while Glencore (LON:GLEN) climbed 0.61% and Fresnillo (LON:FRES) advanced 0.67%.
In the financial sector, stocks were also higher. Shares in the Royal Bank of Scotland (LON:RBS) and Lloyds Banking (LON:LLOY) gained 0.14% and 0.17% respectively, while Barclays (LON:BARC) rose 0.63% and HSBC Holdings (LON:HSBA) surged 2.06%.
Meanwhile, Tui AG NA (LON:TUIT) was one of the worst performers, with shares down 2.35%. The stock had jumped in the previous session after the travel company said that turnover for the first quarter climbed by 8.1% year-over-year.
In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a higher open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.55% climb, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.41% gain, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.47% rise.