European stocks climbed as a report showed that investor confidence in Germany improved last month and Spain sold more 12 and 18-month notes than it had planned at a debt auction.

FTSE 100 5,455 +27.55 +0.51%

CAC 40 3,097 +7.57 +0.25%

Xetra DAX 5,830 +44.88 +0.78%

European banking shares lost 0.5 percent as a group after the industry was downgraded to “neutral” from “bullish” at Nomura Holdings Inc. BNP Paribas SA, France’s largest lender (BNP), lost 2.4 percent to 30.13 euros. Societe Generale SA, the country’s second-biggest (GLE), dropped 3.5 percent to 17.96 euros.

Commerzbank AG (CBK) dropped 4.3 percent to 1.17 euros after Germany’s Finance Ministry denied a Reuters report that it’s in talks with Commerzbank to offer state assistance, saying that communication between the government and the bank doesn’t go beyond “exchange of information.”