Europe open: Gains for banks offset by euro strength

As of 0845 BST, the benchmark Stoxx 600 was higher by 0.04% to 385.98, alongside gains of 0.17% for the Dax to 12,670.76, although the Cac-40 was drifting lower 0.08% to 5,250.18 and the FTSE Mibtel by 0.15% to 21,022.68.

In parallel, the Stoxx 600 gauge of lenders' shares was advancing 1.47% to 185.76 while euro-dollar was higher by 0.38% to 1.1421.

"A positive opening call comes after US bourses closed higher (Tech outperforming) and Asian equities took the baton overnight as financials welcome news of US banks having pay-out plans (dividends, buybacks; +50% YoY) approved by the US Federal Reserve. Further gains for Oil, taking the rebound to 7%, and metals fuelled by USD weakness is also helping sentiment towards index heavyweights," said Mike van Dulken and Henry Croft at Accendo Markets.

Hawkish-sounding remarks from BoE governor Mark Carney the day before and ECB chief Mario Draghi, on Tuesday, together with downward forecast revisions for US growth, courtesy of the International Monetary Fund, combined to send the Greenback lower.

Thus, come Thursday morning the US dollar index was adding 0.27% to its losses from the previous session, retreating by 0.27% to 95.75.

German consumers were in a slightly more buoyant mood in July, according to consultancy GfK. Its consumer confidence index rose by 0.2 points to 10.6 (consensus: 10.4).

Harmonised Spanish consumer prices advanced at a 1.6% year-on-year (consensus: 1.5%) pace in June, down four tenths of a percentage point from the prior month.

Still on the economic calendar for later in the session were euro area industrial confidence figures for the month of June at 100 BST, followed by German CPI figures for the same month at 1300 BST.

In the States, the spotlight would be on the latest set of initial weekly US jobless claims and revised first quarter GDP data.

On the corporate front, stock in Deutsche Bank was higher in part after a US federal judge dismissed a lawsuit that accused it of failing in its ant-money laundering controls.

The Brazilian unit of Carrefour filed for an initial public offering that could see it raise between $1.4bn and $1.7bn.