Investing.com - European stocks were higher on Tuesday, despite the release of disappointing employment data from Spain, as growing expectations for further easing measures by the European Central Bank lent support.
During European morning trade, the DJ Euro Stoxx 50 climbed 0.45%, France’s CAC 40 rose 0.29%, while Germany’s DAX gained 0.62%.
Official data earlier showed that the number of unemployed people in Spain increased by 79,200 in October, compared to expectations for a 23,400 rise, after an increase of 19,700 in September.
On Friday, the Bank of Japan surprised markets by restarting its bond purchasing stimulus program, in a bid to shore up the faltering economic recovery.
The move fuelled expectations that the ECB will have to implement quantitative easing measures in order to stave off the threat of deflation and spur growth in the euro area.
Financial stocks were mostly higher, as French lenders BNP Paribas (PARIS:BNPP) and Societe Generale (PARIS:SOGN) climbed 0.51% and 0.79%, although Germany's Deutsche Bank (XETRA:DBKGn) declined 0.41%%.
Among peripheral lenders, Italy's Intesa Sanpaolo (MILAN:ISP) and Unicredit (MILAN:CRDI) advanced 0.48% and 0.83% respectively, while Spanish banks BBVA (MADRID:BBVA) and Banco Santander (MADRID:SAN) rose 0.37% and 0.52%.
Elsewhere, L'Oreal (PARIS:OREP) tumbled 1.65% after Chairman Jean-Paul Agon said he expects this year to be the weakest since 2009 after the cosmetics giant reported third-quarter sales below estimates.
In London, FTSE 100 edged up 0.18%, led by Legal & General Group (LONDON:LGEN), up 2.58% after the life insurance and pensions group reported a rise in net cash generation in the first nine months of 2014.
U.K. lenders tracked European counterparts higher, as Barclays (LONDON:BARC) and Lloyds Banking (LONDON:LLOY) edged up 0.11% and 0.17% respectively, while HSBC Holdings (LONDON:HSBA) added 0.19% and the Royal Bank of Scotland (LONDON:RBS) jumped 1.16%.
On the downside, Greene King (LONDON:GNK) saw shares plummet 1.67% after it agreed to buy Spirit Pub Co. (LONDON:SPRTC) for about £773.6 million. The owner of the Chef & Brewer chain had previously rejected an approach from C&C Group (LONDON:GCC).
In the mining sector, stocks were mixed. Shares in Glencore Xstrata (LONDON:GLEN) edged up 0.10% and Bhp Billiton (LONDON:BLT) climbed 0.56%, while Fresnillo (LONDON:FRES) rallied 1.29% and Randgold Resources (LONDON:RRS) surged 2.80%.
In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a steady. The Dow 30 futures pointed to a 0.07% gain, S&P 500 futures signaled an 0.05% rise, while the NASDAQ 100 futures indicated a 0.05% uptick.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to release trade balance data.