Investing.com - European stocks were higher on Wednesday, as equity markets remained supported after the International Monetary Fund on Tuesday raised its forecast for global economic growth.
During European morning trade, the EURO STOXX 50 climbed 0.45%, France’s CAC 40 gained 0.35%, while Germany’s DAX 30 added 0.21%.
On Tuesday, the IMF raised its forecast for global economic growth, but also warned that the pace of the recovery will remain “weak and uneven”.
The IMF said it expects the global economy to grow by 3.7% in 2014, which in October it said would expand by 3.6% this year.
Investors still remained cautious amid expectations for a reduction to the Federal Reserve's quantitative easing program at the outcome of its next policy meeting on January 29 to USD65 billion from the current USD75 billion.
Financial stocks were broadly higher, as French lenders BNP Paribas and Societe Generale gained 0.68% and 0.79%, while Germany's Deutsche Bank climbed 0.56%.
Among peripheral lenders, Spanish banks Banco Santander and BBVA advanced 0.33% and 0.85% respectively, while Italy's Intesa Sanpaolo and Unicredit rose 0.21% and 2.20%.
Elsewhere, ASML Holding surged 4.85% after forecasting first-quarter sales that trailed analysts’ estimates.
Adding to gains, Rautaruukki Oyj saw shares skyrocket 32.29% after SSAB, Austria's third biggest lender, said it plans to buy the Finnish steelmaker.
In London, commodity-heavy FTSE 100 rose 0.41%, supported by strong gains in the mining sector.
Shares in BHP Billiton climbed 0.65% and Glencore Xstrata jumped 1.40%, while rivals Rio Tinto and Vedanta Resources rallied 1.83% and 2.48%.
BHP earlier said that iron-ore output rose to 48.9 million metric tons in the second quarter, from 42.2 million tons a year earlier, still missing the 49.3 million-ton analysts' estimate.
Meanwhile, financial stocks were mostly higher. HSBC Holdings inched up 0.01%, while Lloyds Banking and Barclays gained 0.34% and 0.59% respectively. The Royal Bank of Scotland underperformed however, down 1.71%.
In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a higher open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.02% gain, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.12% rise, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.21% increase.