European stocks pick up amid hopes of easing global tensions

The European markets opened higher on Tuesday, despite the lingering uncertainty in Eastern Europe and Middle east. But hopes of global tension easing were enough to kindly boost the sentiment.

Equities turned positive in the early part of the European session, rebounding from three-day losing streak amid hopes of easing concerns about the Ukraine crisis and violence in Gaza. The rebound in the risk sentiment came on the heels of easing worries over the geopolitical risks stemming from  Israel-Gaza conflict and the destruction of Malaysian flight.  

Israel continued its offensive against Gaza overnight, hitting hundreds of targets as Israeli soldiers was captured during intense battle in Shujai`iya. The Palestinian death toll nears 600, with 27 Israeli soldiers killed. Meanwhile, Jon Kerry is expected to meet European Union mediators in Cairo in a bid to deescalate the violence in Gaza.

In Europe, the Stoxx 600  index was up 0.54% at 339 as of 05:05 a.m. ET, boosted by the improving sentiment for high-yielding assets. The energy shares led the winners on the pan-European benchmark, with 1.26% gain.

- Britain`s FTSE 100  index rose 0.57% to 6,766.79

- France`s CAC 40  index rose 0.37% to 4,320.53

- Germany`s DAX 30  index rose 0.49% tto 9,658.82

Among equity movers, Publicis Group SA fell the the most by 4.93% to 55.97 euros, after the French advertising company posted second-quarter loss and said sales missed forecast.

Credit Suisse Group SA fell 2.22% to 25.51 Swiss francs as Swizerland`s second-largest bank reported a second-quarter net loss that exceeded forecast, the biggest since 2008.

Meanwhile, European Union foreign minister meet in Brussels to discuss sanctions against Russia, after a Malaysian airplane was downed near Ukraine-Russia borders, killing all 298 people on board, last week.

Russia`s  RTS  index rose 1.80% to 1,261.40 aheaod of the meeting. The dollar was pressured by the Russian Ruble, with the  USD/RUB  falling by 0.14% to trade 35.07.