Investing.com - European stocks were higher on Monday, as speculation the Federal Reserve will keep interest rates on hold for longer contined to support and as investors eyed the release of euro zone inflation data later in the day.
During European morning trade, the DJ Euro Stoxx 50 gained 0.42%, France’s CAC 40 rose 0.32%, while Germany’s DAX climbed 0.66%.
Global equity market remained supported after official data last week showed that the U.S. economy contracted at an annual rate of 2.9% in the first three months of the year, fuelling expectations that the Fed will not raise interest rates in the near future.
Earlier Monday, official data showed that German retail sales data slipped 0.6% in May, compared to expectations for a 0.7% rise, after a 1.5% decline in April, whose figure was revised down from a previously estimated 0.9% fall.
Financial stocks were broadly higher, as French lenders Societe Generale (PARIS:SOGN) and BNP Paribas (PARIS:BNPP) advanced 0.32% and 0.72%, while Germany's Deutsche Bank (XETRA:DBKGn) gained 0.58%.
Over the weekend, BNP Paribas won a six-month reprieve during final talks to settle a criminal probe into U.S. sanctions violations to prepare for a ban on handling certain dollar transactions.
Among peripheral lenders, Italy's Unicredit (MILAN:CRDI) and Intesa Sanpaolo (MILAN:ISP) added 0.21% and 0.31% respectively, while Spanish bank Banco Santander (MADRID:SAN) rose 0.20%.
Elsewhere, Vestas Wind Systems (COP:VWS) shares surged 5.77% after the wind-turbine maker won orders totaling 450 megawatts from EDF (PARIS:EDF)'s renewable unit to supply two U.S. wind farms.
In London, FTSE 100 rose 0.20%, led by Shire, up 1.86%, as executives AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) came to London for shareholder meetings ahead of a possible raised bid for the U.K. drugmaker.
Meanwhile, mining stocks were mixed. Shares in Glencore Xstrata (LONDON:GLEN) gained 0.35% and Vedanta Resources (LONDON:VED) climbed 0.45%, while Polymetal (LONDON:POLYP) and Bhp Billiton (LONDON:BLT) declined 0.24% and 1.28% respectively.
In the financial sector, shares were mostly lower. Lloyds Banking (LONDON:LLOY) slipped 0.19% and Barclays (LONDON:BARC) edged down 0.22%, while HSBC Holdings (LONDON:HSBA) fell 0.28%. The Royal Bank of Scotland (LONDON:RBS) overperformed however, jumping 1.04%.
In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a steady open. The Dow 30 futures pointed to a 0.04% gain, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.03% uptick, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.10% rise.
Later in the day, the euro zone was to release preliminary data on consumer price inflation, while the U.S. was to produce data on manufacturing activity in the Chicago region and a report on pending home sales.