Investing.com - European markets opened higher on Wednesday, as investors focused on major reforms brought to the region's financial sector.
The EURO STOXX 50 gained 0.32%, France’s CAC 40 rose 0.31%, while Germany’s DAX 30 was up 0.44% by 03:35 a.m. ET (07:35 GMT).
European equities strengthened as a new set of rules were set to be implemented on Wednesday in the local financial sector.
The European Commission lauched the new piece of legislation, known as Mifid II, after the original set of rules appeared to be lacking following the 2008 financial crisis.
Financial stocks were broadly lower, as French lenders BNP Paribas (PA:BNPP) and Societe Generale (PA:SOGN) slipped 0.13% and 0.24%, while Germany's Commerzbank (DE:CBKG) and Deutsche Bank (DE:DBKGn) fell 0.23% and 0.21%.
Among peripheral lenders, Italy's Intesa Sanpaolo (MI:ISP) and Unicredit (MI:CRDI) lost 0.29% and 0.51% respectively, while Spanish banks BBVA (MC:BBVA) and Banco Santander (MC:SAN) edged down 0.25% and 0.13%.
On the upside, Airbus Group (PA:AIR) rallied 1.55% after the aircraft manufacturer said it delivered over 700 planes in 2017, breaking company records and meeting its core industrial target for the year.
In London, FTSE 100 inched up 0.02%, helped by Next PLC (LON:NXT), whose shares surged 9.31% after the retailer lifted its profit forecast thanks to a better-than-expected Christmas season.
Marks and Spencer (LON:MKS) added to gains, with shares up 3.95% after the company said it sold its Hong Kong and Macau operations to Dubai franchise partner Al-Futtaim, as part of a plan to overhaul its global operations.
Shares in Ryanair Holdings PLC (LON:RYA) jumped 1% even as the company said its passenger count grew at the slowest annual pace since 2014 after the carrier canceled thousands of flights to cope with a staffing crunch among pilots.
Financial stocks were also mostly higher. Barclays (LON:BARC) and Lloyds Banking (LON:LLOY) edged up 0.07% and 0.12% respectively, while the Royal Bank of Scotland (LON:RBS) climbed 0.40%. HSBC Holdings (LON:HSBA) underperformed, as shares tumbled 0.93%.
Meanwhile, mining stocks were broadly lower on the commodity-heavy index. Shares in BHP Billiton (LON:BLT) slipped 0.13% abd Glencore (LON:GLEN) slid 0.35%, while Anglo American (LON:AAL) dropped 0.73%.
In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a higher open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.20% increase, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.17% rise, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.18% gain.