Investing.com – European stocks advanced on Thursday, ahead of an EU summit to discuss the euro zone debt crisis, while U.S. futures indexes pointed to a higher open on Wall Street.
During European morning trade, the EURO STOXX 50 gained 0.12%; France’s CAC 40 climbed 0.29%; while Germany's DAX rose 0.18%.
Shares in the financial sector were mixed as EU leaders were to meet in Brussels for a 2-day summit to discuss the next step in dealing with the euro zone’s debt crisis and how to stop it from spreading.
Shares in France’s second-largest lender Societe Generale jumped 1.04%, Italy’s largest bank Unicredit saw shares drop 0.65%, while shares in Spain’s biggest lender Banco Santander eased up 0.13%.
Meanwhile, shares in German manufacturing giant Siemens climbed 0.76% after preliminary data showed that manufacturing activity in Germany rose at the sharpest pace in four-and-a-half years in December.
Elsewhere, shares in fashion retailer Hennes & Mauritz tumbled 2.55% after the stock was downgraded by HSBC, while shares in the world’s third largest fashion chain Inditex slumped 1.47% after Societe Generale downgraded the stock to ‘hold’.
In London, the commodity-heavy FTSE 100 added 0.28% as miners led gains after metal prices rebounded. Shares in mining giant Rio Tinto jumped 1.03%, rivals Anglo American saw shares rally 1.28%, while copper producer Xstrata saw shares add 0.84%.
However, shares in oil giant BP tumbled 2.23% after the U.S. government filed a civil lawsuit against the firm over the Gulf of Mexico oil spill.
The outlook for U.S. equity markets, meanwhile, was modestly upbeat ahead of earnings reports from the world’s largest maker of database software Oracle and from the world's second-largest package delivery company FedEx.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a gain of 0.09%, S&P 500 futures indicated a rise of 0.12%, while the Nasdaq 100 futures added 0.19%.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to publish a key weekly report on initial jobless claims, as well as data on building permits, housing starts and manufacturing activity in Philadelphia.
During European morning trade, the EURO STOXX 50 gained 0.12%; France’s CAC 40 climbed 0.29%; while Germany's DAX rose 0.18%.
Shares in the financial sector were mixed as EU leaders were to meet in Brussels for a 2-day summit to discuss the next step in dealing with the euro zone’s debt crisis and how to stop it from spreading.
Shares in France’s second-largest lender Societe Generale jumped 1.04%, Italy’s largest bank Unicredit saw shares drop 0.65%, while shares in Spain’s biggest lender Banco Santander eased up 0.13%.
Meanwhile, shares in German manufacturing giant Siemens climbed 0.76% after preliminary data showed that manufacturing activity in Germany rose at the sharpest pace in four-and-a-half years in December.
Elsewhere, shares in fashion retailer Hennes & Mauritz tumbled 2.55% after the stock was downgraded by HSBC, while shares in the world’s third largest fashion chain Inditex slumped 1.47% after Societe Generale downgraded the stock to ‘hold’.
In London, the commodity-heavy FTSE 100 added 0.28% as miners led gains after metal prices rebounded. Shares in mining giant Rio Tinto jumped 1.03%, rivals Anglo American saw shares rally 1.28%, while copper producer Xstrata saw shares add 0.84%.
However, shares in oil giant BP tumbled 2.23% after the U.S. government filed a civil lawsuit against the firm over the Gulf of Mexico oil spill.
The outlook for U.S. equity markets, meanwhile, was modestly upbeat ahead of earnings reports from the world’s largest maker of database software Oracle and from the world's second-largest package delivery company FedEx.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a gain of 0.09%, S&P 500 futures indicated a rise of 0.12%, while the Nasdaq 100 futures added 0.19%.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to publish a key weekly report on initial jobless claims, as well as data on building permits, housing starts and manufacturing activity in Philadelphia.