Investing.com - European stocks were mostly higher on Wednesday, as hopes for a deal between Greece and its creditors continued to support and as markets eyed the release of data on Germany's business climate later in the day.
During European morning trade, the EURO STOXX 50 edged up 0.11%, France’s CAC 40 slipped 0.11%, while Germany’s DAX 30 added 0.14%.
Fresh talks were scheduled on Thursday after euro zone finance ministers failed to reach agreement over Greece’s bailout at an emergency meeting on Monday, leaving just 48 hours for a detailed agreement to be finalized.
The new reform proposals from the Greek government prompted sharp criticism at home on Tuesday, with government and opposition MPs criticizing the plan.
Financial stocks were broadly higher, as French lenders BNP Paribas (PARIS:BNPP) and Societe Generale (PARIS:SOGN) added 0.16% and 0.33%, while Germany's Deutsche Bank (XETRA:DBKGn) advanced 0.79%.
Among peripheral lenders, Italy's Intesa Sanpaolo (MILAN:ISP) and Unicredit (MILAN:CRDI) gained 0.47% and 0.62% respectively, while Spanish bank BBVA (MADRID:BBVA) rose 0.38%.
Elsewhere, Julius Baer Group Ltd. surged 3.86% after the Swiss wealth manager said it will take a provision of $350 million by the end of the month to settle a U.S. criminal investigation into whether it helped Americans evade taxes.
On the downside, Bouygues (PARIS:BOUY) SA plunged 6.89% after the Paris-based company rejected billionaire Patrick Drahi's bid for its telecommunications unit.
In London, FTSE 100 rose 0.21%, led by J Sainsbury (OTC:JSAIY), with shares up 2.54%, closely followed by rival food retailers Morrison Supermarkets and Tesco (LONDON:TSCO), up 1.78% and 1.08% respectively.
Mining stocks added to gains, as Rio Tinto (LONDON:RIO) climbed 0.73% and Anglo American (LONDON:AAL) advanced 0.86%, while Bhp Billiton (LONDON:BLT) saw shares jump 0.96%.
Meanwhile, financial stocks were mixed. Shares in Lloyds Banking (LONDON:LLOY) eased 0.07% and the Royal Bank of Scotland (LONDON:RBS) edged down 0.17%, while HSBC Holdings (LONDON:HSBA) inched up 0.02% and Barclays (LONDON:BARC) added 0.12%.
In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a steady to lower open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.08% loss, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.04% dip, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.01% downtick.