Investing.com - European stocks were steady to higher on Thursday, as the European Central Bank's asset purchases continued to lend support, while markets continued to follow discussions over Greece's bailout deal.
During European morning trade, the EURO STOXX 50 eased 0.06%, France’s CAC 40 inched 0.03% lower, while Germany’s DAX 30 dipped 0.01%.
European equities remained supported after the ECB began purchasing securities on Monday as part of an asset-buying program amounting to €60 billion a month.
However concerns over the situation in Greece persisted, as the eurogroup of finance ministers continued talks in Brussels to discuss a reform package put forward by Greece as part of its bailout review.
Germany’s finance minister Wolfgang Schaeuble warned Tuesday that Greece must stop wasting time and start developing its reform package.
Financial stocks were broadly lower, as French lenders BNP Paribas (PARIS:BNPP) and Societe Generale (PARIS:SOGN) slipped 0.27% and 0.23%, while Germany's Deutsche Bank (XETRA:DBKGn) and Commerzbank (XETRA:CBKG) fell 0.13% and 0.15%.
Among peripheral lenders, Banco Santander (MADRID:SAN) edged down 0.11% and BBVA (MADRID:BBVA) gained 0.35% in Spain. Italy's Unicredit (MILAN:CRDI) and Intesa Sanpaolo (MILAN:ISP) overperformed, rising 0.37% and 0.50% respectively.
Elsewhere, Deutsche Lufthansa (XETRA:LHAG) rallied 1.22% after saying that earnings before interest and taxes will rise to more than €1.5 billion this year from €1.2 billion in 2014.
In London, commodity-heavy FTSE 100 advanced 0.71%, boosted by sharp gains in the mining sector.
Mining giant Glencore Xstrata (LONDON:GLEN) rallied 1.93% and Antofagasta (LONDON:ANTO) surged 2.61%, while rival company Fresnillo (LONDON:FRES) saw shares soar 3.77%.
Asos (LONDON:ASOS) added to gains, with shares skyrocketing 15.34% after the online fashion retailer reported second-quarter sales that exceeded analysts' projections.
Financial stocks were also broadly higher, as HSBC Holdings (LONDON:HSBA) edged up 0.12% and Barclays (LONDON:BARC) gained 0.43%, while Lloyds Banking (LONDON:LLOY) and the Royal Bank of Scotland (LONDON:RBS) climbed 0.51% and 0.53% respectively.
On the downside, Serco Group (LONDON:SRP) plunged 15.26% after the outsourcing group saying it will raise £555 million in an underwritten rights offering at 101 pence.
In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a higher open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.41% gain, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.40% increase, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.35% rise.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to produce data on retail sales and initial jobless claims.