Investing.com - European stocks opened higher on Thursday, as investors were eyeing the European Central Bank's policy meeting scheduled later in the day amid expectations that further easing measures will be announced.
During European morning trade, the EURO STOXX 50 added 0.28%, France’s CAC 40 gained 0.47%, while Germany’s DAX 30 rose 0.32%.
European equities found support in recent weeks as the ECB has been signaling that it is ready to implement additional easing measures in order to boost inflation in the euro zone and support growth.
Adding to stimulus expectations, Eurostat said on Wednesday that the euro zone's consumer price inflation increased by 0.1% last month, missing expectations for a gain of 0.2% and following a 0.1% increase in October.
The rate has now been below 1% for 26 straight months, well under the European Central Bank's target of near but just under 2%.
Financial stocks were broadly higher, as French lenders BNP Paribas (PA:BNPP) and Societe Generale (PA:SOGN) rose 0.21% and 0.49%, while Germany's Deutsche Bank (DE:DBKGn) gained 0.65%.
Among peripheral lenders, Italy's Intesa Sanpaolo (MI:ISP) and Unicredit (MI:CRDI) added 0.12% and 0.46% respectively. Spanish banks BBVA (MC:BBVA) and Banco Santander (MC:SAN) underperformed, with shares sliding 0.38% and 0.44%.
Elsewhere, Anheuser-Busch Inbev SA (BR:ABI) was down 0.12% after saying it will explore the sale of SABMiller (L:SAB) Plc’s European premium beer brands including Peroni and Grolsch to pave the way for the £73.5 billion takeover of its main rival.
In London, FTSE 100 eased up 0.09%, led by Whtibread, whose shares rallied 1.66% after the stock had its "outperform" rating reissued by Credit Suisse (VX:CSGN).
Financial stocks were also mostly higher, as Lloyds Banking (L:LLOY) inched up 0.04% and HSBC Holdings (L:HSBA) added 0.17%, while Barclays (L:BARC) rose 0.28% and the Royal Bank of Scotland (L:RBS) gained 0.49%.
Meanwhile, mining stocks were broadly lower on the commodity-heavy index. Shares in Rio Tinto (L:RIO) and Glencore (L:GLEN) tumbled 1.23% and 1.44% respectively, while Bhp Billiton (L:BLT) lost 2.03% and Anglo American (L:AAL) plummeted 2.39%.
In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a higher open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.30% gain, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.34% rise, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.40% increase.