Investing.com - European stocks opened mostly higher on Tuesday, as political uncertainty in the U.K. began to subside and as expectations for an upcoming rate cut by the Bank of England supported equities.
During European morning trade, the EURO STOXX 50 advanced 0.78%, France’s CAC 40 climbed 0.69%, while Germany’s DAX 30 gained 0.69%.
Sentiment was boosted by prospects that Theresa May will become the next U.K. prime minster much earlier than had been anticipated.
The news came after Andrea Leadsom, one of the two candidates from Britain’s ruling Conservative Party to succeed Prime Minister David Cameron pulled out of the race.
Equity markets were also supported by mounting expectations for a rate cut from the BoE at the conclusion of its policy meeting on Thursday.
Financial stocks were broadly higher, as French lenders BNP Paribas (PA:BNPP) and Societe Generale (PA:SOGN) rallied 1.71% and 1.93%, while Germany’s Commerzbank (DE:CBKG) and Deutsche Bank (DE:DBKGn) advanced 1.31% and 2.16%.
Among peripheral lenders, Italy’s Intesa Sanpaolo (MI:ISP) and Unicredit (MI:CRDI) surged 2.50% and 5.24% respectively, while Spanish banks BBVA (MC:BBVA) and Banco Santander (MC:SAN) climbed 0.65% and 1.12%.
Lufthansa AG VNA O.N. (DE:LHAG) added to gains, with shares up 1.08% even after the airliner said that passenger traffic in terms of revenue seat kilometres fell by 0.8% in June.
In London, FTSE 100 inched 0.03% lower, weighed by Astrazeneca (LON:AZN), whose shares tumbled 1.40% amid reports the company is considering a $10 billion takeover offer for Medivation.
Meanwhile, U.K. lenders tracked their European counterparts sharply higher. Shares in the Royal Bank of Scotland (LON:RBS) jumped 3.10% and Barclays (LON:BARC) rallied 3.37%, while Lloyds Banking (LON:LLOY) surged 3.38%. HSBC Holdings (LON:HSBA) underperformed however, with shares sliding 0.34%.
Mining stocks were also broadly higher, as Rio Tinto (LON:RIO) and Bhp Billiton (LON:BLT) gained 0.18% and 0.40% respecrively, while Anglo American (LON:AAL) jumped 1.59% and Glencore (LON:GLEN) soared 2.08%.
Elsewhere, Barratt Developments PLC (LON:BDEV) was one of the top performers on the index, with shares up 3.73%, after analysts at Deutsche Bank reaffirmed their ‘buy’ rating on the stock.
In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a higher open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.32% gain, S&P 500 futures a 0.34% rise, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.41% increase.