European stocks rise on German data; DAX up 0.73%

Investing.com - European stock markets were higher on Tuesday, as better-than-expected German growth data lifted market sentiment although concerns over political turmoil in Greece persisted.

During European morning trade, the EURO STOXX 50 climbed 0.98%, France’s CAC 40 jumped 1.19%, while Germany’s DAX 30 rose 0.73%.

Sentiment found support after preliminary data showed earlier that Germany’s economy expanded more-than-expected in the first quarter, indicating that the euro zone’s largest economy is weathering the effects of the crisis in the region.

Germany’s gross domestic product grew by a seasonally adjusted 0.5% in the three months to March, above expectations for a growth of 0.1%.

But investors remained cautious as Greece’s President Karolos Papoulias was due to hold a fresh round of cross party talks aimed at forming a government later in the day, after a more than week-long political stalemate fuelled fears over the country’s ability to uphold its financial commitments and its possible exit from the euro zone.

Financial stocks led gains as shares in shares Italian lenders Intesa Sanpaolo and Unicredit climbed 1.65% and 0.97% although Moody’s Investors Service earlier announced widespread downgrades on Italy’s banking sector, amid concerns over limited access to market funding.

France’s BNP Paribas and Societe Generale rose 0.33% and 1.30% respectively, while German Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank added 0.70% and 0.40%.

French mass media group Vivendi also contributed to gains, surging 3.94%, although it posted lower revenue and operating profit in the first quarter, hit by weak video game sales and bruising competition for its SFR French telecom unit after the launch of a new low-cost mobile player.

In London, commodity-heavy FTSE 100 rose 0.61%, boosted by strong gains in mining stocks.

Shares in mining giant Anglo American jumped 1.55%, after announcing the appointment to its Board of Anne Stevens as a non-executive director, with immediate effect.

Rio Tinto and Bhp Billiton were also on the upside, advancing 0.93% and 1.21% respectively, while copper producers Xstrata and Kazakhmys climbed 1.38% and 1.02%.

Elsewhere, U.K. lenders were mixed. Shares in HSBC Holdings rose 0.78% and the Royal Bank of Scotland added 0.59%, while Lloyds Banking edged up 0.10% and Barclays declined 0.34%.

Earlier in the day, Barclays said that it was putting its French retail banking network up for sale, following an estimated loss of EUR200 million.

In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a higher open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to rise of 0.75%, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.87% increase, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.91% gain.

Later in the day, the euro zone was to produce preliminary data on GDP, while the ZEW Centre for Economic Research was to release a report on German economic sentiment as well as economic sentiment throughout the euro area. European Union finance ministers were also scheduled to hold talks throughout the day.

The U.S. was to publish official data on retail sales and consumer price inflation, as well as a report on manufacturing activity in New York.