Major European stock markets opened in the positive territory on Thursday a day after Joe Biden officially became the next president of the United States.
Major stock markets in the Asia-Pacific region traded mostly higher on Thursday following the Bank of Japan's (BoJ) decision to keep interest rates unchanged in January.
The European Central Bank is set to announce its latest policy decision on key interest rates, with the expectations suggesting they will be left unchanged.
The DAX rose 0.60 percent at the opening bell, with Daimler AG advancing 1.45 percent. The FTSE 100 climbed 0.46 percent, the CAC 40 rose 0.57 percent.
The euro gained 0.14 percent against the dollar to sell for 1.21234, while the pound traded 0.31 percent higher to $1.36006.
The Nikkei 225 closed 0.82 percent higher, while South Korea's Kospi surged by 1.54 percent, while Australia's S&P/ASX ended its trading session rising by 0.79 percent.
In mainland China, the Shanghai Composite jumped by 1.19 percent, while a minute later, the Shenzhen Composite advanced by 1.77 percent. Meanwhile, Hong Kong's Hang Seng went down by 0.28 percent.