Investing.com - European stocks opened sharply higher on Monday, boosted by European Central Bank President Mario Draghi latest remarks at the Jackson Hole conference and as investors eyed upcoming data on Germany's business climate.
During European morning trade, the DJ Euro Stoxx 50 rallied 1.14%, France’s CAC 40 climbed 1.17%, while Germany’s DAX jumped 1.18%.
European equities strengthened as ECB President Mario Draghi said on Friday that the central bank is ready to take more unconventional action if needed to stimulate a sluggish euro zone economy.
Mr. Draghi was speaking at the Fed's annual meeting of top central bankers and economists in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.
At the same time, Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen said the U.S. economy is recovering and added the labor market is improving as well.
Financial stocks were broadly higher, as French lenders BNP Paribas (PARIS:BNPP) and Societe Generale (PARIS:SOGN) rallied 1.63% and 1.74%, while Germany's Deutsche Bank (XETRA:DBKGn) jumped 1.07%.
Among peripheral lenders however, Italy's Unicredit (MILAN:CRDI) and Intesa Sanpaolo (MILAN:ISP) surged 1.52% and 1.53% respectively, while Spanish banks Banco Santander (MADRID:SAN) and BBVA (MADRID:BBVA) advanced 1.02% and 1.17%.
Elsewhere, Vivendi (PARIS:VIV) climbed 1.26% amid reports Spain's Telefonica (MADRID:TEF), up 0.62%, is considering raising its bid for the French media company’s Brazilian Internet-provider unit GVT.
Roche (XETRA:RHO6y) added to gains, rising 0.42%, after agreeing to buy InterMune (NASDAQ:ITMN) for $8.3 billion in cash.
In London, markets remained closed for the Summer Bank Holiday.
In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a higher open. The Dow 30 futures pointed to a 0.36% increase, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.39% gain, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.46% climb.
Later in the day, Germany was to publish the Ifo report on business climate, while the U.S. was to release data on new home sales.