Investing.com - European stocks turned mixed to higher on Monday, after strong data on German business climate, although data showing that Chinese home prices fell for the first time in 14 months in January continued to weigh.
During European afternoon trade, the EURO STOXX 50 rose 0.25%, France’s CAC 40 added 0.28%, while Germany’s DAX 30 edged up 0.08%.
European equities found support after the Ifo German business climate index came in at 111.3 in February, the highest level since mid-2011, up from 110.6 in January. Analysts had expected an unchanged reading.
A separate report showed that the annual rate of euro zone inflation came in at 0.8% in January, unchanged from the previous month and slightly higher than the preliminary estimate for 0.7%. Consumer prices were down 1.1% from a month earlier, in line with forecasts.
Investors were also monitoring developments in Ukraine, after the country's parliament voted on Saturday to remove President Viktor Yanukovich, giving interim presidential powers to an ally of Yulia Tymoshenko, the former prime minister. The interim government has indicated that it will push more integration with Europe.
Financial stocks turned higher, as French lenders BNP Paribas and Societe Generale added 0.10% and 0.77%, while Germany's Deutsche Bank gained 0.68%.
Among peripheral lenders, Italy's Intesa Sanpaolo inched up 0.05% and 0.56% respectively, while Spanish banks Banco Santander and BBVA climbed 0.62% and 0.89%.
Adding to gains, Lufthansa shares jumped 1.43% after the German airline company cancelled 15 flights on Friday morning due to a security staff strike. German trade union Verdi called on security workers at Frankfurt airport to go on strike on Friday in a bid to push for higher pay.
Meanwhile, Volkswagen remained lower, down 4.32%, after the German carmaker unveiled plans to buy out minority shareholders of Swedish trucks division Scania for €6.7 billion and issued a disappointing 2014 outlook.
In London, FTSE 100 slipped 0.18%, still weighed by losses in the financial sector.
Shares in Lloyds Banking edged down 0.11%, and the Royal Bank of Scotland fell 0.28%, while HSBC Holdings plummeted 3.62%. HSBC was reportedly preparing to disclose that it will pay staff bonuses of just under $4 billion when it releases its full-year results this week, as well as a significant impairment charge in connection with its Mexican operations.
Barclays overperformed on the other hand, rising 0.30%.
Elsewhere, mining stocks remained broadly lower, as Glencore Xstrata dropped 0.74% and Antofagasta tumbled 1.15%, while Rio Tinto lost 1.78%.
In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a steady open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.02% dip, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.04% uptick, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.07% gain.