European stocks push higher in light trade; Dax up 0.88%

European stocks pushed higher in light trade on Monday, as hopes for progress on the euro zone front and the Bank of Japan's agressive monetary policy continued to support market sentiment. 

During European afternoon trade, the EURO STOXX 50 jumped 0.94%, France’s CAC 40 climbed 0.63%, while Germany’s DAX 30 advanced 0.88%. 

Sentiment found some support after Italy re-elected President Giorgio Napolitano on Saturday, as the country attempts to break an ongoing political deadlock. 

In addition, Spanish Finance Minister Luis de Guindos said over the weekend that his country would be looking to balance growth, austerity and deficit reduction in its budget plans to be announced this week. 

Meanwhile, investors remained focused on the yen, which weakened across the board after the Group of 20 nations said Japan's recent policy actions are aimed at beating deflation and not at competitively weakening the yen. 

Financial stocks remained broadly higher, as shares in French lenders BNP Paribas and Societe Generale jumped 1.62% and 2.46%, while Germany's Deutsche Bank rallied 1.46%. 

Peripheral lenders added to gains, with Spanish banks BBVA and Banco Santander climbing 1.02% and 1.15%, while Italy's Intesa Sanpaolo and Unicredit surged 2.01% and 4.19% respectively. 

Elsewhere, food retailer Delhaize soared 11.21%, extending earlier gains, after first-quarter preliminary results showed earnings at about EUR214 million, up 13% from the same time last year. 

On the downside, Philips plummeted 2.70% after reporting first-quarter profit that missed analysts’ estimates. 

In London, FTSE 100 gained 0.66%, as U.K. lenders tracked their European counterparts higher. 

Shares in HSBC Holdings jumped 1.48% and Barclays rallied 2.79%, while Lloyds Banking and the Royal Bank of Scotland surged 3.22% and 3.62%. 

Mining stocks were mixed, as BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto added 0.03% and 0.39% respectively, while Evraz and Eurasian Natural Resources plunged 1.79% and 5.73%. 

Adding to losses, copper producers Xstrata and Kazakhmys retreated 0.50% and 7.30%. 

In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a higher open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.48% gain, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.56% rise, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.73% increase. 

Later in the day, the euro zone was to release a report on consumer confidence, while the U.S. was to release private sector data on existing home sales.

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