Major European Markets Close Slightly Higher

European markets closed slightly higher on Wednesday as investors cheered a batch of strong earnings and looked ahead to the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy announcement, due later in the day.

Uncertainty about the pace of global economic rebound due to the surge in coronavirus cases in Asia continued to weigh on sentiment.

The pan European Stoxx 600 edged up 0.02%. The U.K.’s FTSE 100 gained 0.27%, Germany’s DAX climbed 0.28% and France’s CAC 40 moved up 0.53%, while Switzerland’s SMI advanced 0.1%.

Among other markets in Europe, Belgium, Czech Republic, Greece, Ireland, Norway, Poland, Portugal and Spain ended higher.

Austria, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Russia, Sweden and Turkey closed weak, and Netherlands settled flat.

In the UK market, WPP shares rallied 4.3% after the company reported a surprise return to comparable net sales growth for the first quarter of 2021.

Lloyds Banking Group gained about 3.5% after reporting a better-than-expected profit and raising full-year profitability guidance. BP ended 3.1% up, while Royal Dutch Shell, CRH, Barclays Group, Natwest Group, Pearson, Prudential and ICP gained 1 to 2%.

Among the losers, Fresnillo shed 4.1%. Reckitt Benckiser ended nearly 4% down despite the company reporting a higher than expected jump in quarterly sales and backing its full-year outlook.

Aveva Group declined 3.8%. Sainsbury J, Bunzl, Next, RightMove, Weir Group and Melrose Industries lost 1.6 to 3%.

In the French market, Technip shares climbed more than 9%. Societe Generale, BNP Paribas, Renault, Total, Publicis Groupe, AXA, Essilor and Credit Agricole gained 1 to 4%. Sanofi moved up sharply after confirming its 2021 targets.

STMicroElectronics, Legrand, Michelin, ArcelorMittal and Atos ended notably lower.

In Germany, Deutsche Bank shares zoomed more than 10% as the lender reported its strongest quarterly profits in seven years despite headwinds from restructuring and the coronavirus pandemic.

Beiersdorf climbed 1.8%, while Lufthansa, Allianz, Daimler, Munich RE, Thyssenkrupp and SAP gained 0.5 to 1%.

Infineon Technologies, RWE, Bayer, Adidas and Volkswagen ended notably lower.

In economic releases, German consumer confidence is set to weaken in May as rising cases of infections and the tightening of the lockdown weigh on consumption, survey results from the market research group GfK showed.

The forward-looking consumer sentiment index fell to -8.8 in May from revised -6.1 in April. The score was forecast to rise to -3.5.

Data from the British Retail Consortium showed U.K. shop prices continued to decline in April. The shop price index dropped 1.3% year-on-year in April, following a 2.4% decrease in March. Both food and non-food prices declined in April.

France’s consumer confidence remained unchanged in April, defying expectations for an easing, preliminary data from the statistical office INSEE showed. The consumer confidence index reading was 94.0, same as in March. Economists had expected 93.0. In February, the score was 91.