European bourses opened higher Wednesday with miners and financial stocks gaining ground after overnight gains on Wall Street boosted sentiment.
The FTSE 100 was up 0.3% at 8:55 a.m. in London, the CAC 40 Paris also inched up 0.1% but the DAX Frankfurt was little changed%.
Stocks on the Move
Mining stocks were modestly higher in London. Anglo American Plc. rose 1.5% while Rio Tinto plc. added 1.1%.
But BHP Billiton Plc. eased 0.5% after posting latest results. The miner posted record volumes of iron ore for the first half of its financial year, but did not upgrade its full-year guidance amid concerns that storms could disrupt mining in Australia.
Banking firms were also trading with gains. French lender Societe Generale SA gained 0.5% while German banking giant Deutsche Bank AG edged up 0.2%.
London-listed Barclays plc. was up 0.3% while HSBC Holdings plc. was little changed.
Dutch semiconductor equipment manufacturer ASML Holding NV soared 6% after reporting a 62% in fourth quarter net profit. The company also reiterated its expectation for the first half of 2014.
Swiss power and technology company ABB Ltd. dropped 3.7% after the company said its fourth-quarter earnings will be hit due to charges pertaining to North-Sea power projects and restructuring.