Investing.com - European stocks were steady to higher on Thursday, as investors eyed the Bank of England’s policy statement due later in the trading session and as they remained cautious ahead of the U.S. presidential election next week.
During European morning trade, the EURO STOXX 50 inched up 0.04%, France’s CAC 40 added 0.15%, while Germany’s DAX 30 dipped 0.03%.
Investors remained cautious after the FBI said last Friday that it would review more emails related to Hillary Clinton's private email use while she was secretary of state.
The news sparked fresh uncertainty over Mrs. Clinton’s election prospects ahead of the November 8 vote, amid fears over the implications of a victory for Republican candidate Donald Trump.
Financial stocks were broadly higher, as French lenders BNP Paribas (PA:BNPP) and Societe Generale (PA:SOGN) gained 0.75% and 4.84%, while Germany’s Deutsche Bank (DE:DBKGn) and Commerzbank (DE:CBKG) rose 0.23% and 0.64%.
Societe Generale was boosted after saying third-quarter revenue climbed 4%.
Among peripheral lenders, Italy’s Intesa Sanpaolo (MI:ISP) and Unicredit (MI:CRDI) climbed 0.60% and 1.14% respectively, while Spanish banks Banco Santander (MC:SAN) and BBVA (MC:BBVA) advanced 0.63% and 0.92%.
Vonovia SE (DE:VNAn) added to gains, with shares surging 3.76% after Germany’s biggest housing association reported an 8% increase in its key profit metric in the first nine months of 2016.
In London, FTSE 100 rose 0.23%, led by Shire PLC (LON:SHP), whose shares jumped 3.61%, bouncing back from losses posted earlier in the week when the company reported lower-than-expected third-quarter revenue.
Financial stocks were also mostly higher, as HSBC Holdings (LON:HSBA) inched up 0.07% and the Royal Bank of Scotland (LON:RBS) climbed 0.66%, while Barclays (LON:BARC) gained 0.80%. Lloyds Banking (LON:LLOY) underperformed, with shares dropping 0.49%.
Meanwhile, mining stocks were broadly lower on the commodity-heavy index. Shares in Glencore (LON:GLEN) lost 1.17% and Anglo American (LON:AAL) tumbled 1.50%, while rival Randgold Resources (LON:RRS) plummeted 2.17%.
In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a steady to lower open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.03% gain, S&P 500 futures showed a 0.06% dip, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.30% slide.