By Investors Hub
European stocks have moved to the upside despite German political uncertainty and ahead of the release of minutes from the latest Fed and ECB meetings later this week.
The euro steadied somewhat after German Chancellor Angela Merkel said she would prefer a new election to ruling with a minority.
While the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index has risen by 0.3 percent, the French CAC 40 Index and the German DAX Index are up by 0.7 percent and 0.9 percent, respectively.
Italy’s biggest utility Enel has risen after it unveiled plans to invest 24.6 billion euros in capital spending over the next three years.
EasyJet shares have also soared after the airline reported a 17 percent drop in full-year pre-tax profits but said its revenue trends for the first quarter are encouraging.
Meanwhile, home improvement retailer Kingfisher has fallen after reporting a small drop in third quarter sales.
Johnson Matthey has also moved to the downside and Melrose has slumped on disappointing earnings updates.