Investing.com - European stocks were higher on Friday, supported by the release of strong German consumer climate data and after the Federal Reserve said it would be "patient" before raising rates.
During European morning trade, the EURO STOXX 50 advanced 0.85%, France’s CAC 40 jumped 0.97%, while Germany’s DAX 30 gained 0.65%.
Data earlier showed that the Gfk German consumer climate index rose to a six-month high of 9.0 in December from a reading of 8.7 the previous month. Analysts had expected the index to tick up to 8.9 this month.
Meanwhile, global equities remained supported after the Fed on Wednesday said it would be "patient" before raising rates, guidance which it said is consistent with earlier assurances statement that rates would stay low "for a considerable time."
At the bank’s post policy meeting press conference, Fed Chair Janet Yellen said the Fed was unlikely to raise rates for the "next couple of meetings" indicating that a move in April at the earliest is possible.
Financial stocks were broadly higher, as French lenders BNP Paribas (PARIS:BNPP) and Societe Generale (PARIS:SOGN) jumped 1.20% and 1.27%, while Germany's Commerzbank (XETRA:CBKG) and Deutsche Bank (XETRA:DBKGn) rose 0.09% and 0.84%.
Among peripheral lenders, Italy's Unicredit edged up 0.14%, while Spanish banks Banco Santander and BBVA rose 0.21% and 0.22%.
Elsewhere, Atos (PARIS:ATOS) saw shares surge 6.12% after agreeing to buy Xerox Corp.'s information-technology outsourcing business for $1.05 billion, almost tripling the French computer-services provider’s business in the U.S.
On the downside, Air France KLM (PARIS:AIRF) dove 6.42% after the airline pushed back delivery of some aircraft in the next two years to contain costs following its third profit revision this year.
In London, FTSE 100 climbed 0.86%, supported by sharp gains in the financial sector.
Shares in Lloyds Banking (LONDON:LLOY) advanced 0.84% and HSBC Holdings (LONDON:HSBA) jumped 1.17%, while Barclays and the Royal Bank of Scotland (LONDON:RBS) rallied 1.31% and 1.41% respectively.
Mining stocks were also on the upside, as Glencore Xstrata (LONDON:GLEN) gained 0.80% and BHP Billiton climbed 0.94%, while Randgold Resources surged 1.85%.
Meanwhile, Petrofac led losses on the index, with shares down 3.46%.
In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a higher open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.37% rise, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.32% gain, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.53% climb.