Forexpros – European stock markets remained higher on Monday, as sentiment was boosted after Greece’s parliament approved a series of fresh austerity measures although investors remained uncertain over the plan’s implementation.

During European afternoon trade, the EURO STOXX 50 jumped 0.88%, France’s CAC 40 climbed 0.81%, while Germany’s DAX 30 advanced 0.94%.

Greek lawmakers approved on Sunday a set of austerity measures needed to secure a second bailout package, including cuts in private-sector wages, 15,000 public-sector job cuts and a further EUR3 billion in government-spending cuts this year alone.

Despite the upbeat mood, investors remained cautious amid uncertainty over the implementation of the austerity plan and ahead of the final outcome of the debt write-off negotiations between Athens and its private creditors.

Financial stocks were mixed as shares in Dutch lender surged 2.95% and German Deutsche Bank climbed 1.40%, while France’s BNP Paribas ans Societe Generale tumbled 1.20% and 1.07% respectively.

Meanwhile, Nexans, the world’s second-largest maker of cables and wires, jumped 2.08% after it said it has agreed to buy AmerCable Holdings Inc. for USD275 million.

On the downside, Royal Boskalis Westmintser NV, the world’s largest dredging company, slumped 5.25% after saying that it didn’t get the Wheatstone project dredging order in Australia.

In London, FTSE 100 jumped 1.13%, boosted by strong gains in the financial sector.

Shares in Lloyds Banking surged 3.42% and Barclays climbed 2%, while the Royal Bank of Scotland and HSBC Holdings added 1.65% and 1.40% respectively.

Mining giants Rio Tinto and Bhp Billiton also added to gains with shares jumping 2.55% and 2%, while copper producers Xstrata and Kazakhmys soared 3.17% and 3.51%.

Elsewhere, Cable & Wireless Worldwide skyrocketed 29.52% after Vodafone Group, the world’s largest mobile-phone company, said it is evaluating an offer for the company.

In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a higher open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a rise of 0.70%, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.76% increase, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.74% gain.

Also Monday, Germany sold EUR3 billion of six-month bills at an average yield of 0.0761%, while Italy sold EUR8.5 billion of one-year bills at yields of 2.23%, down from 2.735% at a similar auction last month, plus another EUR3.5 billion of 127-day bills at just 1.5%, down from 1.64%.

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