Forexpros – European stocks were broadly higher after the open on Tuesday, with the financial sector in focus as shares of British bank Standard Chartered fell sharply in London, after U.S. regulators accused the bank of concealing transactions with Iran.
During European morning trade, the EURO STOXX 50 gained 0.80%, France’s CAC 40 rose 0.41%, while Germany’s DAX 30 was up 0.47%.
Market sentiment was lifted by hopes that the European Central Bank will soon act to ease the debt crisis in the euro zone, after ECB head Mario Draghi indicated last week that the bank may restart its bond buying program.
In Germany, automakers were leading gains, with shares of Volkswagen up 1.84%, while BMW and Daimler rallied 1.84% and 1.51% respectively.
Meanwhile, shares of German energy provider RWE surged 1.33% after the company said that it has increased its Polish wind energy portfolio on Monday.
Shares of German insurance giant Allianz were up 1.69%. On Friday, the company said net profit rose more than 23% in the second quarter, to reach EUR1.3 billion, boosted partly by its life and health divisions.
However, shares in the financial sector were lower, with German lender Deutsche Bank down 0.24%.
Financial stocks were higher in France, with shares in lenders Credit Agricole and BNP Paribas up 2.89% and 1.36% respectively.
Peripheral lenders were broadly higher, with Italian Unicredit up 2.03% and Intesa Sanpaolo easing up 0.06%. Spain’s Banco Santander rallied 3.27% while counterpart BBVA was up 2.23%.
In London, the FTSE 100 was down 0.19%, led lower by declines the financial sector.
Shares of Standard Chartered bank plunged 24.91% after the New York State Department of Financial Services has threatened to strip its state banking license, claiming it was a “rogue institution”.
Officials from the DFS said the British bank concealed GBP160 billion in transactions tied to Iran, in violation of U.S. sanctions.
Shares of HSBC Holdings were down 0.87%, while lenders Barclays and Royal Bank of Scotland lost 0.14% and 0.28% respectively.
In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a modestly higher open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.16% rise, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.26% gain, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.54% increase.
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