On Thursday, European stock indices rose, being supported by recent policy statement of the Federal Reserve System, as well as a series of optimistic corporate earnings reports.
During European morning trade, the STOXX EURO 50 rose 0.32%, France's CAC 40 rose 0.39%, while Germany's DAX 30 added 0.53%.
Equity markets strengthened after the Fed did not specify the exact timing of the next rate hike, but left the possibility for action in September, citing "steady" rise in the labor market.
At the end of the two-day policy meeting, the members responsible for the policy of the Central Bank unanimously voted to keep interest rates unchanged and reiterated its dependence on economic indicators when considering plans to tighten monetary policy.
The French lenders Societe Generale (PARIS: SOGN) and BNP Paribas (PARIS: BNPP) gained 0.41% and 1.14%, while the German Commerzbank (XETRA: CBKG) and Deutsche Bank (XETRA: DBKGn) rose 0.99% and 3.11%. Earlier, Deutsche Bank reported an increase in profit in the second quarter more than tripled.
Among the peripheral lenders, Italian Intesa Sanpaolo (MILAN: ISP) and Unicredit (MILAN: CRDI) gained 0.26% and 0.29% respectively, while Spanish BBVA (MADRID: BBVA) rose 0.35%.
Shares of Electricite de France SA rose 2.51% after the company reported an increase in profits for the first half, and their consent to the acquisition of nuclear division of the company Areva SA.
In addition, shares of Telefonica (MADRID: TEF) SA increased in price by 0.76% after it said that sales growth for the second quarter exceeded forecasts.
The London FTSE 100 index rose 0.58% due to the shares of Royal Dutch Shell (LONDON: RDSa), which jumped 2.59% after the company announced plans to cut 6500 jobs.
Financial sector stocks also rose sharply. For example, shares of HSBC Holdings (LONDON: HSBA) rose 0.38%, shares of Lloyds Banking (LONDON: LLOY) rose 0.81%, while shares of Barclays (LONDON: BARC) jumped 1.22%. Shares of Royal Bank of Scotland (LONDON: RBS) gained 2.69% after the publication of an unexpected profit. In addition, shares of AstraZeneca Plc climbed 1.88% after report on quarterly profit and sales that beat analysts' expectations.
Meanwhile, the mining sector generally declined. For example, shares of Glencore (LONDON: GLEN) lost 0.62%, shares of Fresnillo (LONDON: FRES) retreated 0.77%, while shares of Antofagasta (LONDON: ANTO) fell 0.82%.
In the US, equity markets pointed to a stable trend at the opening. Futures of Dow Jones Industrial Average show a 0.07% decline, S & P 500 futures indicate a 0.07% drop, while the Nasdaq 100 futures rose 0.03%.