Investing.com - European stocks edged higher on Tuesday, as investors eyed the upcoming U.S. Presidential vote, although concerns over the debt crisis in Greece continued to weigh.
During European morning trade, the EURO STOXX 50 added 0.17%, France’s CAC 40 edged 0.22% higher, while Germany’s DAX 30 eased up 0.05%.
Investors remained cautious ahead of the start of voting in the U.S. presidential elections, with opinion polls pointing to a tight race between incumbent President Barack Obama and Republican contender Mitt Romney.
Markets were also jittery ahead of Wednesday’s parliamentary vote in Greece on new austerity measures required for Athens to get its next round of international aid.
On Monday, European Union Commissioner for Economic and Monetary Affairs Olli Rehn said the euro zone was on track to make a decision on unlocking Greece’s next installment of financial aid at a meeting of the bloc’s finance ministers next week.
Financial stocks were broadly higher, as shares in French lenders BNP Paribas and Societe Generale rose 0.28% and 0.32%, while Germany's Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank added 0.06% and 1.19%.
Spanish banks were on the downside on the other hand, with shares in Banco Santander and BBVA slipping 0.01% and 0.34%.
Meanwhile, Adecco climbed 0.92% as the world’s biggest supplier of temporary workers reported earnings that exceeded estimates.
In London, FTSE 100 added 0.20%, supported by gains in financial stocks.
Shares in HSBC Holdings eased up 0.01% and the Royal Bank of Scotland climbed 0.47%, while Barclays advanced 0.56% and Lloyds Banking jumped 1.33% after saying earlier that its bill for mis-selling payment protection insurance had increased by a further GBP1 billion.
Commodity-linked stocks added to gains, as mining giant Rio Tinto rose 0.26%, while copper producer Xstrata climbed 0.42%.
Elsewhere, ARM Holdings surged 3.88% as Apple was said to consider ways to replace Intel Corp. processors in its personal computers.
In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a steady open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.02% loss, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.04% fall, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.04% dip.
Also Tuesday, Markit research group said that Spain's services purchasing managers' index ticked up to 41.2 in October from 40.2 the previous month.
Analysts had expected the index to remain unchanged in October.
Later in the day, Germany was to produce official data on factory orders.
During European morning trade, the EURO STOXX 50 added 0.17%, France’s CAC 40 edged 0.22% higher, while Germany’s DAX 30 eased up 0.05%.
Investors remained cautious ahead of the start of voting in the U.S. presidential elections, with opinion polls pointing to a tight race between incumbent President Barack Obama and Republican contender Mitt Romney.
Markets were also jittery ahead of Wednesday’s parliamentary vote in Greece on new austerity measures required for Athens to get its next round of international aid.
On Monday, European Union Commissioner for Economic and Monetary Affairs Olli Rehn said the euro zone was on track to make a decision on unlocking Greece’s next installment of financial aid at a meeting of the bloc’s finance ministers next week.
Financial stocks were broadly higher, as shares in French lenders BNP Paribas and Societe Generale rose 0.28% and 0.32%, while Germany's Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank added 0.06% and 1.19%.
Spanish banks were on the downside on the other hand, with shares in Banco Santander and BBVA slipping 0.01% and 0.34%.
Meanwhile, Adecco climbed 0.92% as the world’s biggest supplier of temporary workers reported earnings that exceeded estimates.
In London, FTSE 100 added 0.20%, supported by gains in financial stocks.
Shares in HSBC Holdings eased up 0.01% and the Royal Bank of Scotland climbed 0.47%, while Barclays advanced 0.56% and Lloyds Banking jumped 1.33% after saying earlier that its bill for mis-selling payment protection insurance had increased by a further GBP1 billion.
Commodity-linked stocks added to gains, as mining giant Rio Tinto rose 0.26%, while copper producer Xstrata climbed 0.42%.
Elsewhere, ARM Holdings surged 3.88% as Apple was said to consider ways to replace Intel Corp. processors in its personal computers.
In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a steady open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.02% loss, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.04% fall, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.04% dip.
Also Tuesday, Markit research group said that Spain's services purchasing managers' index ticked up to 41.2 in October from 40.2 the previous month.
Analysts had expected the index to remain unchanged in October.
Later in the day, Germany was to produce official data on factory orders.