Yahoo Finance Stocks - European Markets Rise With Eyes on U.S. Tax Reform
Investing.com - European markets were slightly higher on Thursday, as investors continued to eye developments in U.S. tax reform discussions.
The EURO STOXX 50 added 0.28%, France’s CAC 40 rose 0.21%, while Germany’s DAX 30 was up 0.27% by 03:30 a.m. ET (07:30 GMT).
Sentiment improved after U.S. Senate Republicans agreed to talks with the House of Representatives on a major tax reform bill on Wednesday, signaling that lawmakers could agree on a final bill ahead of a self-imposed December 22 deadline.
However, investors were still cautious amid potential geopolitcal tensions following President Donald Trump decided to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital and to move the U.S. embassy there.
Financial stocks were broadly higher, as French lenders Societe Generale (PA:SOGN) and BNP Paribas (PA:BNPP) advanced 0.27% and 1.10%, while Germany's Deutsche Bank (DE:DBKGn) and Commerzbank (DE:CBKG) gained 0.35% and 0.99%.
Among peripheral lenders, Italy's Intesa Sanpaolo (MI:ISP) and Unicredit (MI:CRDI) rose 0.22% and 0.71% respectively, while Spanish bank BBVA (MC:BBVA) added 0.20%.
Elsewhere, Bayerische Motoren Werke AG (DE:BMWG) slipped 0.17% after the German carmaker was censured by the UK’s advertising watchdog for claiming an electric car equipped with a small petrol engine was “clean” and “zero emissions”.
Carrefour (PA:CARR) added to losses, with shares down 2.72%. The French retailer's new chief executive Alexandre Bompard revealed earlier in the week that he had teamed up with his former employer Fnac Darty for a purchasing partnership.
In London, FTSE 100 edged up 0.12%, helped by Sky Plc (LON:SKYB), whose shares surged 2.35% after the UK competition watchdog delayed by a month its provisional decision on 21st Century Fox’s £11.7 billion proposed deal to take full control of the Britsh company.
In the financial sector, stocks were mixed as the Royal Bank of Scotland (LON:RBS) fell 0.31% and Lloyds Banking (LON:LLOY) slid 0.43%, while Barclays (LON:BARC) inched up 0.03% and HSBC Holdings (LON:HSBA) rose 0.28%.
Meanwhile, mining stocks were broadly lower on the commodity-heavy index. Shares in Anglo American (LON:AAL) declined 0.63% and Glencore (LON:GLEN) dropped 0.70%, while Rio Tinto (LON:RIO) tumbled 1.59%.
Glaxosmithkline (LON:GSK) was also on the downside, as shares retreated 1.01%. Australia’s consumer watchdog said earlier in the week thay it will be suing the Australian subsidiaries of GlaxoSmithKline and Novartis ver alleged false or misleading marketing of their pain relief gels.
In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a steady to higher open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.02% uptick, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.10% rise, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.23% increase.
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