Investing.com - European stocks were higher on Wednesday, after the World Bank raised its global growth forecast and as Tuesday's upbeat U.S. and euro zone data broadly continued to support equity markets.
During European morning trade, the EURO STOXX 50 climbed 0.65%, France’s CAC 40 advanced 0.57%, while Germany’s DAX 30 jumped 0.91%.
Equities strengthened after the World Bank increased its global growth forecasts, predicting the world economy will expand 3.2% this year, compared to a previous projection of 3% and up from 2.4% in 2013.
Equity markets were also boosted after the Commerce Department said Tuesday that U.S. retail sales rose 0.2% in December, while core retail sales, which excludes auto sales, rose 0.7%.
In the euro zone, data on Tuesday showed that industrial production increased by 1.8% in November, beating expectations for a 1.4% gain. Industrial production in October was revised to a 0.8% decline, compared to a previously reported drop of 1.1%.
Financial stocks were broadly higher, as French lenders BNP Paribas and Societe Generale rallied 1.45% and 1.48%, while Germany's Deutsche Bank climbed 0.88%.
Among peripheral lenders, Spanish bank BBVA jumped 1.43%, while Italy's Intesa Sanpaolo and Unicredit advanced 1.41% and 1.55% respectively.
Elsewhere, Hennes & Mauritz surged 2.01% after the clothing retailer posted a 10% increase in total sales in December, exceeding the 9.1% rise expected by analysts.
In London, FTSE 100 gained 0.44%, led by a 6.36% jump in Burberry shares after the U.K. luxury-goods maker posted quarterly revenue that topped analysts’ estimates.
Financial stocks were also on the upside, as HSBC Holdings climbed 0.66% and Lloyds Banking advanced 0.82%, while Barclays and the Royal Bank of Scotland rallied 0.95% and 1.09% respectively.
In the mining sector, Vedanta Resources climbed 0.43% and Glencore Xstrata gained 0.83%, while Rio Tinto advanced 1.04%. Rival company Fresnillo underperformed however, down 1.69%.
In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a higher open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.23% increase, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.20% rise, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.27% gain.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to release data on producer price inflation and a report on manufacturing activity in the New York region.