Investing.com - European stocks remained higher on Tuesday, as hopes that a U.S. budget deal could soon be found to avoid a sovereign default continued to support market sentiment.
During European afternoon trade, the EURO STOXX 50 rose 0.79%, France’s CAC 40 gained 0.67%, while Germany’s DAX 30 climbed 0.85%.
U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said Monday that “tremendous progress” had been made towards a deal, fuelling hopes that a compromise can be reached.
If an agreement to raise the federal borrowing limit is not struck ahead of Thursday’s deadline, the U.S. will face an unprecedented sovereign debt default.
Any potential deal will still have to be approved by the House of Representatives, where Speaker John Boehner would have to decide whether to allow a vote or demand federal spending cuts.
Financial stocks were broadly higher, as French lenders BNP Paribas and Societe Generale climbed 0.86% and 1.88%, while Germany's Deutsche Bank gained 0.83%.
Among peripheral lenders, Spanish banks Banco Santander and BBVA advanced 0.42% and 0.93% respectively. However, Italy's Unicredit and Intesa Sanpaolo turned lower, slipping 0.18% and 0.51%.
Elsewhere, Kuehne & Nagel International tumbled 2.72% after the world’s biggest sea-freight forwarder reported third-quarter profit that missed analysts’ estimates as cargo volume stagnated amid the company’s effort to maintain pricing.
In London, FTSE 100 advanced 0.89%, still supported by gains in the financial sector.
Shares in HSBC Holdings rose 0.30% and Barclays gained 1.52%, while Lloyds Banking surged 3.84%. The Royal Bank of Scotland underperformed on the other hand, plummeting 2.45%.
Bloomberg reported earlier that Richard Usher, JPMorgan Chase's chief dealer in London, wrote instant messages while he was at Royal Bank of Scotland Group that U.K. regulators are scrutinizing as part of their investigation of alleged currency manipulation.
Mining stocks were also on the upside, as Glencore Xstrata jumped 1.49% and Rio Tinto surged 4.04%, while rival company Antofagasta rallied 2.74%.
Elsewhere, Burberry Group was one of the worst performers on the index, plunging 4.45%, as Chief Executive Officer Angela Ahrendts is leaving the U.K. luxury-goods maker to head Apple's retail and online business. She will be replaced by Christopher Bailey.
In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a higher open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.17% gain, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.11% rise, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.20% increase.
Also Tuesday, data showed that German economic sentiment improved more-than-expected in October, rising to the highest level since April 2010.
The ZEW Centre for Economic Research said that its index of German economic sentiment rose by 3.2 points to hit 52.8 in October from September’s reading of 49.6. Analysts had expected an unchanged reading.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to release a report on manufacturing activity in the Empire state.
During European afternoon trade, the EURO STOXX 50 rose 0.79%, France’s CAC 40 gained 0.67%, while Germany’s DAX 30 climbed 0.85%.
U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said Monday that “tremendous progress” had been made towards a deal, fuelling hopes that a compromise can be reached.
If an agreement to raise the federal borrowing limit is not struck ahead of Thursday’s deadline, the U.S. will face an unprecedented sovereign debt default.
Any potential deal will still have to be approved by the House of Representatives, where Speaker John Boehner would have to decide whether to allow a vote or demand federal spending cuts.
Financial stocks were broadly higher, as French lenders BNP Paribas and Societe Generale climbed 0.86% and 1.88%, while Germany's Deutsche Bank gained 0.83%.
Among peripheral lenders, Spanish banks Banco Santander and BBVA advanced 0.42% and 0.93% respectively. However, Italy's Unicredit and Intesa Sanpaolo turned lower, slipping 0.18% and 0.51%.
Elsewhere, Kuehne & Nagel International tumbled 2.72% after the world’s biggest sea-freight forwarder reported third-quarter profit that missed analysts’ estimates as cargo volume stagnated amid the company’s effort to maintain pricing.
In London, FTSE 100 advanced 0.89%, still supported by gains in the financial sector.
Shares in HSBC Holdings rose 0.30% and Barclays gained 1.52%, while Lloyds Banking surged 3.84%. The Royal Bank of Scotland underperformed on the other hand, plummeting 2.45%.
Bloomberg reported earlier that Richard Usher, JPMorgan Chase's chief dealer in London, wrote instant messages while he was at Royal Bank of Scotland Group that U.K. regulators are scrutinizing as part of their investigation of alleged currency manipulation.
Mining stocks were also on the upside, as Glencore Xstrata jumped 1.49% and Rio Tinto surged 4.04%, while rival company Antofagasta rallied 2.74%.
Elsewhere, Burberry Group was one of the worst performers on the index, plunging 4.45%, as Chief Executive Officer Angela Ahrendts is leaving the U.K. luxury-goods maker to head Apple's retail and online business. She will be replaced by Christopher Bailey.
In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a higher open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.17% gain, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.11% rise, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.20% increase.
Also Tuesday, data showed that German economic sentiment improved more-than-expected in October, rising to the highest level since April 2010.
The ZEW Centre for Economic Research said that its index of German economic sentiment rose by 3.2 points to hit 52.8 in October from September’s reading of 49.6. Analysts had expected an unchanged reading.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to release a report on manufacturing activity in the Empire state.