European stocks remain higher in thin trade; Dax up 0.08%

European stocks remained higher in thin trade on Friday, after positive euro zone data and as market sentiment recovered after sharp losses were fuelled by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke's comments on Wednesday. 

During European afternoon trade, the EURO STOXX 50 rose 0.33%, France’s CAC 40 climbed 0.58%, while Germany’s DAX 30 edged up 0.08%. 

The European Central Bank said its current account surplus narrowed to EUR19.5 billion in April, from a surplus of EUR25.9 billion, confounding expectations for the surplus to narrow to EUR14.2 billion. 

Global stocks were hit after Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke on Wednesday said the bank could begin slowing asset purchases by the end of 2013 and wind them down completely by the middle of 2014 if the economy picks up as the central bank expects. 

Financial stocks were mixed, as shares in French lenders BNP Paribas and Societe Generale slipped 0.08% and 0.16%, while Germany's Deutsche Bank climbed 0.65%. 

Among peripheral lenders, Spanish bank Banco Santander advanced 0.60%, while Italy's Intesa Sanpaolo and Unicredit fell 0.32% and 0.20% respectively. 

Elsewhere, SAP AG plummeted 1.73% as the German maker of business-management software was affected by U.S. rival Oracle's quarterly sales report, saying it missed estimates. 

In London, FTSE 100 jumped 0.74%, supported by gains in financial stocks and after official data showed that U.K. public sector net borrowing rose less-than-expected in May. 

Shares in HSBC Holdings rallied 1.48% and Barclays rose 0.42%, while Lloyds Banking surged 1.40%. The Royal Bank of Scotland remained sharply lower on the other hand, plunging 2.84%. 

Meanwhile, mining stocks remained mostly lower, as BHP Billiton slipped 0.25% and Polymetal tumbled 1.45%, while Fresnillo dove 4.37%. 

In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a higher open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.60% increase, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.75% advance, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.61% gain. 

Trading volumes were expected to remain light, as no U.S. data was scheduled to be released throughout the day.