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London - European stock markets advanced on Tuesday, with French bank BNP Paribas higher after agreeing to pay a huge fine and miners leading the way in London after well-received Chinese data.
Traders also reacted to eurozone official data showing unemployment within the bloc dipped by 28 000 jobs in May to 11.6%, with continued signs of improvement in Portugal and Ireland.
London's benchmark FTSE 100 index climbed 0.48% to stand at 6 776.4 points in morning deals.
Frankfurt's DAX 30 gained 0.28% to 9 860.15 points and the CAC 40 in Paris won 0.59% to 4 448.87 compared with Monday's close.
The euro dipped to $1.3687 from $1.3692 late on Monday in New York.
In Paris, shares in leading French bank BNP Paribas rallied by 4.21% to €51.63, with investors expressing relief that a dispute with US judicial authorities was over.
"The CAC 40 is being pulled ahead largely by the good performance of BNP Paribas shares following the announcement of an agreement with US justice officials which really opens up horizons for investors and the company," said Saxo bank analyst Christopher Dembik.
Also within the banking sector, French bank Societe Generale was up 2.89% to €39.36 and Britain's Barclays advanced €1.16 to 215.27 pence.
Miners meanwhile advanced after official data showed Chinese manufacturing activity expanded at its fastest pace this year in June, in a sign that Beijing's attempts to tackle slowing growth in the world's number two economy are gaining traction.
The official purchasing managers index (PMI) hit 51.0 last month, the National Bureau of Statistics said in a statement. The figure is up from 50.8 in May and the best since a similar reading of 51.0 in December.
The index tracks manufacturing activity in China's factories and workshops and is a closely watched indicator of the health of the economy. A reading above 50 indicates growth, while anything below points to contraction.
In London trading, shares in miner Rio Tinto rose 2.69% to 3 192 pence, while peers Anglo American gained 1.89% to 1 457 pence and BHP Billiton climbed 1.98% to 1 927 pence.
"Good news from China is always an ideal way to shake the FTSE 100 into life, thanks to the heavy mining component in the index," said Alastair McCaig, market analyst at IG traders.
"The tiny rise in the manufacturing PMI was hardly a major improvement, but it has been eagerly seized upon by traders evidently desperate for a positive news story."
In foreign exchange trading, the British pound reached another near six-year high at $1.7133 - as the currency continued to benefit from expectations of interest rate hikes by the Bank of England.
The pound later on Tuesday stood at $1.7125, up from $1.7106 late in New York on Monday.
The euro slipped to 79.89 British pence from 80.04 pence Monday.
On the London Bullion Market, the price of gold jumped to a 3.5-month high at $1 334.06 per ounce. It later traded at $1 326.81 compared with $1 315 on Monday.
