Investing.com - European stocks remained higher on Tuesday, as markets were eyeing Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen’s first testimony on monetary policy to Congress later in the day.
During European afternoon trade, the EURO STOXX 50 gained 0.94%, France’s CAC 40 climbed 0.65%, while Germany’s DAX 30 jumped 1.35%.
Ms. Yellen was to testify on monetary policy and the outlook for the economy before the House Financial Services Committee later Tuesday and the Senate Banking Committee on Thursday.
The Fed chair was expected to reiterate that the bank will continue to unwind its stimulus program as long as the economic recovery continues as expected, and to repeat that the bank will keep interest rates at current record lows for some time to come.
The testimony is coming amid fresh concerns over the outlook for the recovery, following the weakest two-month stretch of U.S. job creation in three years in December and January.
Financial stocks remained broadly higher, as French lenders BNP Paribas and Societe Generale rallied 1.51% and 0.82%, while Germany's Deutsche Bank climbed 0.47%.
Among peripheral lenders, Spanish banks Banco Santander and BBVA gained 0.86% and 1.21% respectively, while Italy's Intesa Sanpaolo and Unicredit jumped 1.20% and 1.28%.
Adding to gains, Michelin advanced 1.70%, even as the French tire maker reported a 24% drop in 2013 net profit, due to volatility in foreign exchange markets.
Elsewhere, French luxury goods maker L'Oreal plummeted 2.25%, erasing earlier gains, after saying it was buying 8% of its own shares from Swiss group Nestle, increasing the Bettencourt Meyers family's stake in the firm to 33.31% from 30.6%. Nestle shares were down 0.89%.
In London, commodity-heavy FTSE 100 advanced 0.78%, supported by gains in mining stocks.
Shares in Rio Tinto and Glencore Xstrata jumped 1.29% and 1.21% respectively, while rivals Vedanta Resources and Fresnillo surged 2.12% and 4.67%.
Meanwhile, financial stocks were mixed, as the Royal Bank of Scotland climbed 0.55% and HSBC Holdings rallied 1.51%, while Lloyds Banking lost 0.62% and Barclays plunged 4.67%.
Barclays earlier said its net profit for the year came in at GBP540 million against a net loss of GBP624 million for 2012. It also said its adjusted pre-tax profits had declined 32% to GBP5.16 billion, below analysts' expectations.
In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a higher open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.34% increase, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.33% gain, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.33% rise.