An employee, left, helps a customer at a Citibank branch in New York. Better-than-expected results from the banking giant helped boost European financial stocks.

AFP/London

European stock markets closed higher yesterday, recouping earlier losses as traders shook off concerns about the crisis in Ukraine on the back of positive data from the US.

Wall Street opened higher after government data showed retail sales surged 1.1% in March as consumers ramped up spending following brutally cold weather earlier in the winter.

The upbeat news from the world’s biggest economy cheered investors in Europe, where markets fell in early trade after Ukraine declared a “full-scale” military operation against pro-Russian forces amid deadly clashes in its restive east.

London’s FTSE 100 closed up 0.34% compared to Friday’s closing level at 6,583.76 points, recovering after dipping 0.82% earlier in the day.

Frankfurt’s DAX 30 rose 0.26% to stand at 9,339.17 points, while in Paris the CAC-40 rose 0.43% to finish at 4,384.56 points.

Better-than-expected results from banking giant Citigroup also helped boost financial stocks.

The US bank reported profits excluding special items of $1.23 per share, beating analysts’ forecast of $1.14 per share and painting a rosier outlook for the upcoming reporting season.

“European markets had a rough start as concerns over Ukraine from the weekend heightened expectations for harsher sanctions on Russia,” said market analyst Jasper Lawler at CMC Markets UK.

“This all turned around with an earnings-beat from Citigroup and better than expected US retail sales.”

In mid-afternoon trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average had advanced 0.83% to 16,160.33.

The broad-based S&P 500 rose 0.87% to 1,831.45, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index added 1.01% to 4,040.29.

Meanwhile, perceived safe-haven gold got a boost from the ongoing crisis.

The price of the yellow metal jumped to a two-and-a-half-week peak at $1,330.59 an ounce as investors sought shelter from the Ukraine crisis.

“Gold and silver were higher on the flight to safety over concerns in Ukraine,” said Lawler.

Dealers meanwhile digested comments from European Central Bank chief Mario Draghi over the weekend, who said policymakers may need to take action to stem the euro’s rise.

The head of the French central bank Christian Noyer a member of the ECB policy council, was also quoted as saying the single currency was “abnormally strong”.

In London, the euro drifted down to $1.3821 from $1.3883 late on Friday.

The single currency dipped to 82.55 British pence from 82.98 pence on Friday, while the pound rose to $1.6741 from $1.6729.

In company news, French carmaker Peugeot saw its share price slide 6.28% to end at €12.83 as investors shunned the group’s newly unveiled recovery strategy.

Shares in Total ended up 2.88% at €49.10 after the French oil group gave the green light to ultra-deep oil extraction in Angola after cutting the costs by a fifth.