European stocks were mostly higher on Monday, still supported by European Central Bank President Mario Draghi's comments the week before, although concerns over ongoing tensions in Ukraine persisted.
European equities remained supported after ECB President Mario Draghi said last week that the bank is "comfortable" with acting to shore up growth and stop inflation from falling too low at its next meeting in June.During European morning trade, the DJ Euro Stoxx 50 edged up 0.07%, France’s CAC 40 fell 0.26%, while Germany’s DAXadded 0.17%.
The comments came after the ECB left rates on hold, as widely expected.
But investors remained cautious after pro-Russian separatists claimed victory in a weekend referendum on self-rule in eastern Ukraine, fuelling fears that the country is sliding closer to civil war. The vote has been condemned by Ukraine’s government and the West.
Financial stocks were mostly lower, as French lenders BNP Paribas (PARIS:BNPP) and Societe Generale (PARIS:SOGN) declined 0.66% and 0.35%, while Germany's Deutsche Bank (XETRA:DBKGn) retreated 0.53%.
Among peripheral lenders however, Intesa Sanpaolo (MILAN:ISP) eased 0.08% and Unicredit (MILAN:CRDI) climbed 0.80% in Italy, while BBVA (MADRID:BBVA) fell 0.18% and Banco Santander (MADRID:SAN) rose 0.33% in Spain.
Elsewhere, Sky Deutschland (XETRA:SKYDn) surged 7.89% after British Sky Broadcasting Group (LONDON:BSY) said it is working on a deal valued at about €10 billion euros to acquire the company.
Adding to gains, Air France -KLM (PARIS:AIRF) rallied 1.89% after saying passenger numbers climbed 1.8% in April.
In London, commodity-heavy FTSE 100 added 0.17%, supported by gains in the mining sector.
Shares in Antofagasta (LONDON:ANTO) jumped 1.85% and Bhp Billiton (LONDON:BLT) advanced 1.94%, while rival companies Vedanta Resources (LONDON:VED) and Rio Tinto (LONDON:RIO) surged 2.67% and 2.78% respectively.
Meanwhile, BSkyB led losses on the index, down 2.58%, following reports Rupert Murdoch is seeking a deal to transform the country into a European satellite-TV giant while leaving his U.S.-based 21st Century Fox focused on entertainment programming.
In the financial sector, stocks were mostly lower. Lloyds Banking (LONDON:LLOY) edged down 0.24% and the Royal Bank of Scotland (LONDON:RBS) slipped 0.28%, while Barclays (LONDON:BARC) saw shares tumble 1.15%. HSBC Holdings (LONDON:HSBA) overperformed on the other hand, rallying 1.13%.
In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a higher open. The Dow 30 futurespointed to a 0.15% gain, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.17% rise, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.25% increase.
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