European stocks higher amid ECB stimulus talk; Dax up 0.29%

European stocks were higher on Monday, supported by growing speculation the European Central Bank may add more stimulus measures, while expectations for the Federal Reserve to soon begin tapering its bond purchases persisted. 

During European morning trade, the EURO STOXX 50 rose 0.32%, France’s CAC 40 gained 0.31%, while Germany’s DAX 30 added 0.29%. 

European equities remained supported after data on Thursday showing that euro zone inflation fell to a four year low in October sparked expectations for further rate cuts by the ECB. 

Eurostat said consumer price inflation in the currency bloc rose 0.7% in October, the slowest pace since November 2009, after rising 1.1% in September. 

Meanwhile, unexpectedly strong U.S. manufacturing data on Friday added to expectations that the Federal Reserve could start to taper its stimulus program as soon as next month.

Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas President Richard Fisher said Monday that the recent fiscal standoff in Washington counteracted the role of the Fed’s easy money policies in the economic recovery. The comments came during a speech in Sydney. 

Financial stocks were mixed, as French lenders BNP Paribas and Societe Generale gained 0.85% and 0.20%, while Germany's Deutsche Bank declined 0.63%. 

Among peripheral lenders, Spanish banks BBVA and Banco Santander both dipped 0.03%, while Italy's Intesa Sanpaolo and Unicredit climbed 0.44% and 0.68% respectively. 

Elsewhere, Dufry AG rallied 1.38% after the operator of duty-free shops reported increased revenue. 

PostNL NV surged 5.90% after the Dutch postal operator raised its income guidance. 

In London, FTSE 100 rose 0.47%, supported by gains in financial stocks. 
HSBC Holdings saw shares advance 0.43% after saying third-quarter pretax profit rose 30% as the lender cut costs. 

Meanwhile, Lloyds Banking gained 0.83% and Barclays jumped 0.91%, while the Royal Bank of Scotland underperformed, plummeted 2.09%. 

Mining stocks added to gains, as Fresnillo rallied 1.33% and Vedanta Resources advanced 1.39%, while rivals Rio Tinto and Antofagasta surged 1.56% and 1.97% respectively. 

On the downside, Ryanair Holdings dove 11.57% after cutting its profit forecast, due to rising competition and a weaker economy in Europe. 

In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a higher open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.14% rise, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.18% gain, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.24% increase. 

Also Monday, Markit research group said Spain's manufacturing purchasing managers' index rose to 50.9 in October, from a reading of 50.7 the previous month, in line with expectations. 

Later in the day, the U.S. was to release data on factory orders.