European stocks push higher as sentiment improves; Dax up 0.95%

Investing.com - European stocks pushed higher on Monday, as the announcement of a historic deal over Iran's nuclear program continued to support risk sentiment.

During European afternoon trade, the EURO STOXX 50 climbed 0.67%, France’s CAC 40 advanced 0.58%, while Germany’s DAX 30 jumped 0.95% and hit a new all-time high of 9,306.50 points.

Weekend talks among the U.S., Russia, China, Britain, Germany, France and Iran ended in agreement on a "first step deal” that is meant to limit advancements in Iran's nuclear program in exchange for easing economic sanctions against Tehran.

In the euro zone, European Central Bank board member Benoit Coeure said low levels of inflation in the euro zone were likely to continue in the short term, but were unlikely to progress to disinflation because the economy is stabilizing.

Markets were also focusing on developments in Italy, as Silvio Berlusconi was to face a Senate vote on Wednesday on whether he should be expelled from politics for a conviction for tax fraud received earlier this year.
 
Financial stocks were broadly higher, as French lenders BNP Paribas and Societe Generale gained 0.49% and 2.19%, while Germany's Deutsche Bank surged 2.08%.

Among peripheral lenders, Spanish banks Banco Santander and BBVA rose 0.12% and 0.52% respectively, while Italy's Intesa Sanpaolo added 0.29%.

Elsewhere, PSA Peugeot Citroen rallied 3.91% amid reports the company's chief executive officer Philippe Varin plans to step down next year.

Meanwhile, Orange trimmed earlier gains, still up 0.02%, as the French phone company was expected to announce the sale of its Dominican Republic unit to Altice as soon as this week.

In London, FTSE 100 rose 0.33%, still led by sharp gains in IAG shares, up 2.88%, after the company, which owns British Airways as well as Spain's Iberia and Vueling, raised its 2015 operating profit goal to EUR1.8 billion from EUR1.6 billion.

Rival company Easyjet wasn't far behind, with shares rallying 1.99%.

Financial stocks also remained on the upside, as Lloyds Banking advanced 0.41% and Barclays gained 0.79%, while HSBC Holdings and the Royal Bank of Scotland rose 0.37% and 0.54% respectively.

Meanwhile, mining stocks were mixed. Glencore Xstrata added 0.20%, while Vedanta Resources plummeted 3.05% and Randgold Resources sank 3.43%.

In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a higher open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.36% increase, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.30% gain, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.34% rise.

Later in the day, the U.S. was to release private sector data on pending home sales.