Investing.com – European stock markets rose to their highest level since September 2008 on Wednesday as shares in the financial sector were boosted by strong earnings news, while U.S. futures indexes pointed to a higher open on Wall Street.
During European morning trade, the EURO STOXX 50 climbed 0.97%, France’s CAC 40 added 0.87%, while Germany's DAX was up 0.47%.
Shares in the financial sector performed strongly after French banking giant Societe Generale reported better-than-expected fourth quarter earnings.
The lender said net profit jumped by 74% to EUR874 million, beating market expectations for profit of EUR868 million. SocGen’s core Tier 1 capital ratio strengthened to 8.5%, as it took fewer charges for bad loans.
Following the results, the lender saw shares surge 4.21%. Meanwhile, rival BNP Paribas, who will report results on Thursday saw shares climb 3.05%, shares in Spain’s biggest bank Banco Santander jumped 3.37%, while Deutsche Bank gained 2.09%.
Meanwhile, shares in pharmaceutical giant Sanofi-Aventis rallied 4.02% after it agreed to acquire U.S. biotech firm Genzyme in a deal valued at approximately USD20.1 billion.
Heineken saw shares soar 5.07% after it said 2010 net profit jumped 41% to EUR1.44 billion, helped by cost savings, improved pricing and higher profit from the group's joint ventures.
In London, the commodity-heavy FTSE 100 rose 0.53% as miners led gains, after metal prices advanced.
Shares in gold producer African Barrick Gold climbed 1.19%, copper producer Xstrata saw shares rise 1.02%, while silver producer Fresnillo added 1.52%.
The outlook for U.S. equity markets, meanwhile, was upbeat ahead of earnings reports from media giant Comcast and from the largest U.S. dairy foods processor Dean Foods.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a rise of 0.35%, S&P 500 futures indicated a gain of 0.45%, while the Nasdaq 100 futures pointed to an increase of 0.34%.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to publish official data on producer price inflation, as well as reports on building permits, housing starts and industrial production, while the Federal Reserve was to publish the minutes of its most recent monetary policy meeting.
During European morning trade, the EURO STOXX 50 climbed 0.97%, France’s CAC 40 added 0.87%, while Germany's DAX was up 0.47%.
Shares in the financial sector performed strongly after French banking giant Societe Generale reported better-than-expected fourth quarter earnings.
The lender said net profit jumped by 74% to EUR874 million, beating market expectations for profit of EUR868 million. SocGen’s core Tier 1 capital ratio strengthened to 8.5%, as it took fewer charges for bad loans.
Following the results, the lender saw shares surge 4.21%. Meanwhile, rival BNP Paribas, who will report results on Thursday saw shares climb 3.05%, shares in Spain’s biggest bank Banco Santander jumped 3.37%, while Deutsche Bank gained 2.09%.
Meanwhile, shares in pharmaceutical giant Sanofi-Aventis rallied 4.02% after it agreed to acquire U.S. biotech firm Genzyme in a deal valued at approximately USD20.1 billion.
Heineken saw shares soar 5.07% after it said 2010 net profit jumped 41% to EUR1.44 billion, helped by cost savings, improved pricing and higher profit from the group's joint ventures.
In London, the commodity-heavy FTSE 100 rose 0.53% as miners led gains, after metal prices advanced.
Shares in gold producer African Barrick Gold climbed 1.19%, copper producer Xstrata saw shares rise 1.02%, while silver producer Fresnillo added 1.52%.
The outlook for U.S. equity markets, meanwhile, was upbeat ahead of earnings reports from media giant Comcast and from the largest U.S. dairy foods processor Dean Foods.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a rise of 0.35%, S&P 500 futures indicated a gain of 0.45%, while the Nasdaq 100 futures pointed to an increase of 0.34%.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to publish official data on producer price inflation, as well as reports on building permits, housing starts and industrial production, while the Federal Reserve was to publish the minutes of its most recent monetary policy meeting.