Investing.com - European markets opened mixed on Friday, as investors were eyeing the release of German business climated data due later in the day.
The EURO STOXX 50 eased up 0.08%, France’s CAC 40 inched 0.01% higher, while Germany’s DAX 30 was down 0.14% by 03:30 a.m. ET (07:30 GMT).
Markets were still jittery after German Chancellor Angela Merkel failed to form a government coalition on Sunday, sparking concerns new elections could be called.
But investor confidence was boosted after data on Thursday showed that euro zone private sector activity accelerated in November.
Financial stocks were broadly higher, as French lenders BNP Paribas (PA:BNPP) and Societe Generale (PA:SOGN) gained 0.40% and 0.52%, while Germany's Commerzbank (DE:CBKG) and Deutsche Bank (DE:DBKGn) rallied 0.33% and 1.05%.
Among peripheral lenders, Italy's Intesa Sanpaolo (MI:ISP) and Unicredit (MI:CRDI) rose 0.21% and 0.72% respectively, while Spanish banks BBVA (MC:BBVA) and Banco Santander (MC:SAN) advanced 0.41% and 1.05%.
Thyssenkrupp AG O.N. (DE:TKAG) added to gains, with shares up 1.20% a day after the German engineering group reported a record number of elevator orders and said that it still hopes to sign a contract with Tata Steel in early 2018.
On the downside, shares in Saint Gobain (PA:SGOB) declined 0.63%. The company announced late Thursday that its board of directors will seek to exntend Chief Executive Pierre-Andre de Chalendar's contract by four years at its next shareholders' meeting.
In London, FTSE 100 slipped 0.13%, weighed by Mediclinic International PLC (LON:MDCM), whose shares tumbled 1.91% after analysts at Macquarie reaffirmed their “neutral” rating on the stock, while Jefferies Group LLC restated and “underperform” rating.
Kingfisher (LON:KGF) was also on the downside, with shares dropping 1.03%. Earlier in the week, the company said that falling revenues at B&Q and poor performance in its French business weighed on third-quarter like-for-like sales.
Meanwhile, financial stocks were steady to higher, as Barclays (LON:BARC) inched up 0.03% and HSBC Holdings (LON:HSBA) added 0.26%, while the Royal Bank of Scotland (LON:RBS) rose 0.30%. Lloyds Banking (LON:LLOY) dipped 0.05%.
In the mining sector, stocks were also mostly higher. Shares in BHP Billiton (LON:BLT) and Anglo American (LON:AAL) edged up 0.11% and 0.17% respectively, while Glencore (LON:GLEN) added 0.12%.
In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a steady to higher open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.03% uptick, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.07% rise, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.01% gain.