European stocks rise amid Greece worries; DAX up 1.15%

Investing.com - European stock markets were higher on Wednesday, bouncing off Tuesday's lows although investors remained wary over the outcome of Greece's referendum on its recent bailout deal.

During European morning trade, the EURO STOXX 50 rose 1.05%, France’s CAC 40 jumped 1.41%, while Germany’s DAX 30 advanced 1.15%.

Markets eyed a meeting between German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Nicolas Sarkozy and Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou, scheduled later Wednesday about Athens' surprise decision to vote on its latest bailout program.

If Greece rejects the deal it would put the next tranche of aid to Athens in jeopardy, moving the country towards the brink of default and increasing the risk of contagion in global financial markets.

The financial sector led gains as shares in France's Credit Agricole surged 4.46% and BNP Paribas jumped 3.82%, while German lender Deutsche Bank climbed 2.42%.

Italian banks were also sharply higher, with shares in Unicredit soaring 2.36% and Intesa Sanpaolo advancing 3.04%, after Greece's referendum announcement saw the yield on 10-Italian government bonds soar to a euro-lifetime high, despite the European Central Bank's support for the Italian bond market.

Meanwhile, Credit Suisse extended Tuesday's losses with shares dropping 7.80%, after the Swiss lender announced it will slash 1,500 more jobs as part of an overhaul that will see it refocus away from its traditional European bond trading business and towards high-growth markets in Asia and South America.

In London, FTSE 100 advanced 0.36%, led by gains in financial stocks as U.K. lenders tracked their European counterparts.

Barclays was one of the day's top gainers, with shares surging 3.37%, while the Royal Bank of Scotland jumped 2.84% and HSBC Holdings increased 1.47%.

Elsewhere, energy stocks were sharply higher as the commodity sector posted strong gains. Mining giants Rio Tinto and Bhp Billiton climbed 3.80% and 2.18%, while copper producers Xstrata and Kazakhmys advanced 3.06% and 3.60%.

Elsewhere, U.S. equity markets pointed to a higher open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a rise of 0.68%, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.83% increase, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.89% advance.

Earlier Wednesday, data showed that the number of unemployed people in German rose unexpectedly in September, climbing 10,000 after a 22,000 decline the previous month. Analysts had expected German unemployment to fall 10,000 in September.