Investing.com - European stocks opened higher in subdued holiday trade on Tuesday, as equity markets remained supported before the year end despite recent European Central Bank comments.
The German, Italian, Scandinavian and Swiss markets were all closed on Tuesday, while London, Madrid and Paris opened for a half day.
During European morning trade, France’s CAC 40 gained 0.28%, while Spain's IBEX 35 inched up 0.02%.
Trading volumes were thin as many investors already closed books before the end of the year, reducing liquidity in the market and increasing volatility, which helped exaggerate market moves.
On Friday, ECB Governing Council member Weidmann, who also heads the German Bundesbank, said that keeping interest rates low may endanger political reforms. He added that low inflation shouldn’t be used to justify loose monetary policy.
"We must take care to raise interest rates again in a timely manner should inflation pressures build," Weidmann said.
Separately, ECB President Mario Draghi said he sees no urgent need to cut the euro zone's main interest rate further and sees no signs of deflation.
In the financial sector, French lenders BNP Paribas and Societe Generale gained 0.19% and 0.53%, while Spanish banks Banco Santander and BBVA fell 0.17% and 0.22% respectively.
Elsewhere, Orange shares dropped 0.76% amid reports the company is preparing its legal response to a report alleging the U.S. National Security Agency accessed customers' data transmitted by a submarine cable partly used by the French telecoms operator.
In London, FTSE 100 rose 0.26%, supported by gains in financial stocks.
Shares in Lloyds Banking edged up 0.04% and the Royal Bank of Scotland added 0.24%, while HSBC Holdings and Barclays advanced 0.39% and 0.75% respectively.
Adding to gains, International Personal Finance climbed 0.40% after Citigroup recommended that investors buy the shares.
On the downside, mining giants Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton slipped 0.28% and 0.16%, while Randgold Resources and Vedanta Resources tumbled 1.01% and 1.95%.
In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a steady open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.01% dip, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.04% rise, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.03% gain.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to produce private sector data on consumer confidence and house price inflation, as well as a report on manufacturing activity in the Chicago region.