European stocks higher but debt concerns weigh; DAX up 0.30%

Investing.com - European stock markets were higher on Tuesday, as market sentiment improved but gains were capped by ongoing worries over euro zone and U.S. debt levels.

During European morning trade, the EURO STOXX 50 rose 0.33%, France’s CAC 40 advanced 0.61%, while Germany’s DAX 30 climbed 0.30%.

Market sentiment found support after Greek Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos said that euro zone officials would make a decision regarding the next tranche of Greek aid as soon as November 29.

Spain's newly elected Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy said he will hold his first cabinet meeting on December 23 to examine ways to cut the budget deficit.

But investors remained jittery after a U.S. congressional "super committee" failed to forge a deficit reduction deal and ratings agency Fitch said that the subsequent deadlock was likely to result in a revision of the rating outlook to “negative”.

European lenders were mixed, as Italy’s Intesa Sanpaolo and Unicredit saw shares jump 1.74% and 1.23% respectively, while France’s BNP Paribas declined 0.37%. German lender Deutsche Bank climbed 0.20%.

Elsewhere, the auto sector contributed to gains with shares in Volswagen rising 0.95% and BMW advancing 0.43%, while Italian company Fiat saw shares jump 1.56%.

In London, FTSE 100 rose 0.43%, boosted by strong gains in the financial sector.

Anglo America was one of the top gainers with shares surging 1.63%, followed by HSBC Holdings whose shares climbed 1.23%. Meanwhile, shares in Lloyds banking and the Royal Bank of Scotland advanced 1.09% and 0.82%.

Antofagasta and Xstrata led rallies in mining companies, as shares soared 1.68% and 1.08% respectively.

Mining giants Rio Tinto and Bhp Billiton added to gains, with shares jumping 1.61% and 1.21%, while British Petroleum declined 0.30%.

Elsewhere, British Land surged 2.16% after Bank of America raised its recommendation for the U.K.’s real estate investment trust to “buy” from “neutral.”

In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a mixed open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a rise of 0.09%, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.21% gain, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.35% decline.

Later in the day, the U.S. was to release preliminary data on gross domestic product, and the U.S. Federal Reserve was to publish the minutes of its November policy meeting, later Tuesday.