The European stocks opened with growth, as most indices increase amid increased volatility and lower trading volume.
The number of applications for unemployment benefits in France declined in November by 0.9%, to the lowest level since 2013 – 3.4 millions. The index decreased for three consecutive months. In France, the Ministry of Labour explains the improvement in the labor market with the "support from the government activity measures."
The composite index of the largest companies in the region Stoxx Europe 600 was up 0.1%, to 360.49 points. Since early December, the indicator gained 5.5%; its rise for the month will be the most significant since October 2015. Since the beginning of the year, Stoxx 600 fell 1.4%, but it still minimize this fall in the last session, the experts say.
London Stock Exchange was closed on Tuesday in connection with the ongoing celebrations of Christmas.
France's CAC 40 rose 0.1%, the same as the German DAX, while the Italian FTSE MIB rose 0.3%. Meanwhile, the Spanish IBEX 35 stock index fell less than 0.1%.
The shares of the Italian banks UBI Banca SpA and Banco Popolare SC fell more than 2.3% after Banca Monte dei Paschi reported that the European Central Bank assesses its capital deficit at 8.8 billion euro.
In general, the banking index Euro Stoxx Banks fell 0.2% due to concerns about the future of Italian banks.
Parmalat shares rose nearly 9.8%, exceeding the price of 2.80 euro proposed by Lactalis group for the shares that it does not own yet.
In the energy sector, the shares of French Total SA (PA: TOTF) lost 0.18%, the Italian ENI (MI: ENI) remained unchanged, while the shares of the Norwegian rival Statoil (OL: STL) rose 0.06%.
In the financial sector, the shares of BNP Paribas (PA: BNPP) dropped by 0.77%, Societe Generale (PA: SOGN) rose 0.18%, Commerzbank (DE: CBKG) rose 0.04%, while Deutsche Bank (DE: DBKGn) fell by 1.12%.