European stocks rise amid Spain bailout talk; DAX up 0.36%

Investing.com - European stocks rose on Friday, as speculation that Spain will soon ask for financial aid slightly lifted market sentiment, although Thursday's downbeat economic data limited gains.

During European morning trade, the EURO STOXX 50 advanced 0.55%, France’s CAC 40 climbed 0.59%, while Germany’s DAX 30 rose 0.36%.

European stocks gained ground after the Financial Times reported earlier that euro zone policymakers will unveil a financial bailout program for Spain as early as next week.

Sentiment remained under pressure  however, after Thursday's string of weak economic reports from the U.S., the euro zone and China sparked fresh concerns over the outlook for global economic growth.

In the euro zone, preliminary data showed that manufacturing activity improved more-than-expected in September but remained in contraction territory, while service sector activity fell unexpectedly.

Financial stocks were broadly higher, as shares in French lenders Societe Generale and BNP Paribas climbed 0.68% and 0.64%, while Germany's Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank rose 0.15% and 0.52%.

Peripheral lenders also advanced, with Italian banks Intesa Sanpaolo and Unicredit jumping 1.22% and 0.52%, while Spain's BBVA and Banco Santander added 0.54% and 0.23%.

Elsewhere, insururers posted sharp gains, led by Italian group Assicurazioni generali, up 1.45%, while France-based Axa gained 1.13% and Germany's Allianz rallied 1.11%.

In London, commodity-heavy FTSE 100 rose 0.33%, supported by gains in mining stocks.

Mining giants BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto advanced 1.18% and 0.78%, while rival Vedanta Resources surged 3.75%.

Oil giant Anglo American was also on the upside, with shares climbing 0.81%, while BP rose 0.56%, a day after it was reported to be in talks with the Russian government to sell its stake in TNK-BP to Rosneft for billions of dollars in cash and a 12.5% stake in the Russian state oil giant.

Meanwhile, Vodafone rallied 1.25% following reports the phone company is open to discuss tax issues  and that it will explore a new option to pay the government if interest and penalty are waived off.

U.K. lenders were mixed. HSBC Holdings slipped 0.17%, while Barclays rose 0.36%, the Royal Bank of Scotland advanced 0.58% and Lloyds Banking jumped 0.97%.

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 0.29% rise, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.26% gain.

On Thursday, negotiators discussing Greece's bailout came closer to an agreement in late night talks, but were still short of a final deal that would unlock the next instalment of Greece's EUR31.5 billion bailout package.