Investing.com - European stocks were higher on Wednesday, as concerns over a potential Greek default eased and as an upbeat report on German consumer sentiment lent support.
During European morning trade, the EURO STOXX 50 gained 0.48%, France’s CAC 40 climbed 0.57%, while Germany’s DAX 30 rose 0.29%.
European equity markets found support after the Greek government expressed confidence to that it would make a €305 million payment to the International Monetary Fund due on June 5.
Athens had previously warned that it would be unable to make the repayment if a cash-for-reforms deal with its international lenders was not reached by then.
Sentiment was also boosted after data showed that the GfK German consumer sentiment index ticked up to 10.2 from 10.1 a month earlier, supported by increased domestic demand. It was the highest level since October 2001.
Financial stocks were broadly higher, as French lenders Societe Generale (PARIS:SOGN) and BNP Paribas (PARIS:BNPP) gained 0.38% and 0.59%, while Germany's Commerzbank (XETRA:CBKG) and Deutsche Bank (XETRA:DBKGn) rallied 1.23% and 1.57%.
Among peripheral lenders, Italy's Unicredit (MILAN:CRDI) and Intesa Sanpaolo (MILAN:ISP) climbed 0.68% and 1.04% respectively, while Spanish banks Banco Santander (MADRID:SAN) and BBVA (MADRID:BBVA) rose 0.31% and 0.61%.
Elsewhere, Assicurazioni Generali (MILAN:GASI) SpA jumped 1.75% after Europe's third-largest insurer said it plans to increase dividends and boost cash flow to more than €7 billion by 2018.
In London, FTSE 100 advanced 0.45%, as U.K. lenders tracked their European counterparts higher.
Shares in Barclays (LONDON:BARC) gained 0.40% and HSBC Holdings (LONDON:HSBA) climbed 0.44%, while the Royal Bank of Scotland (LONDON:RBS) and Lloyds Banking (LONDON:LLOY) advanced 0.48% and 0.50% respectively.
International Airlines Group (LONDON:ICAG) added to gans, up 0.78%, after getting approval from the Irish government to proceed with its €1.4 billion takeover of Aer Lingus (IR:AERL).
Meanwhile, mining stocks were steady to higher on the commodity-heavy index. Rio Tinto (LONDON:RIO) and Glencore Xstrata (LONDON:GLEN) inched up 0.05% and 0.07%, while Fresnillo (LONDON:FRES) added 0.14% and Bhp Billiton (LONDON:BLT) rose 0.33%.
In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a steady open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.02% dip, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.06% loss, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.06% downtick.