European stock markets opened higher on Thursday, with banks and energy companies leading the gainers as investors awaited the German ZEW index and a Spanish bond auction.

Shares of French telecommunications equipment provider Alcatel-Lucent SA sank 12% on Tuesday after a profit warning.

MADRID Spanish Finance Minister Luis de Guindos said the country's bond auction on Tuesday, in which borrowing rates fell for the government, is evidence Spain is retaining its access to the market, according to media reports.

Life insurance policies that provide long-term care benefits are growing in popularity and attracting younger baby boomers anxious to protect their portfolios.Sales of the policies, when measured by premiums paid, grew 20 percent last year over 2010, and the number of lives covered increased 13.5

With gas prices well over the $3 mark and auto insurance costs rising, owning a car is no drive on Easy Street.

… at a time. Austrian Airlines intends to continue using Boeing planes for long-distance flights. Write to Barbara Millner at barbara .millner@dowjones.com Copyright © 2012 Dow Jones Newswires