European Markets Close On Firm Note

European markets closed on a firm note on Wednesday, led by gains in mining and banking sectors.

The mood, however, remained somewhat cautious with investors awaiting key inflation data from the U.S. Concerns about China’s deflation, and economic slowdown continued to weigh.

The pan European Stoxx 600 climbed 0.43%. The U.K.’s FTSE 100 surged 0.8%, Germany’s DAX gained 0.49% and France’s CAC 40 gained 0.72%, while Switzerland’s SMI ended 0.22% up.

Among other markets in Europe, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Iceland, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Russia, Spain, Sweden and Turkiye closed with sharp to moderate gains.

Czech Republic, Ireland and Poland ended weak.

In the UK market, BP, IHG, Shell, Glencore, Haleon, Unite Group, Antofagasta and Standard Chartered gained 1.5 to 3%.

BT Group, Weir Group, AstraZeneca, GSK, Rentokil Initial, Admiral Group, Barclays, Phoenix Group Holdings, British American Tobacco, Reckitt Benckiser, DCC and Segro also posted strong gains.

Hiscox dropped more than 6%. Flutter Entertainment ended down 3.4% despite the online betting firm reporting a return to profitability for the first half of the year.

Severn Trent ended lower by about 3.4%. RS Group, United Utilities, JD Sports Fashion, IAG and Scottish Mortgage declined 1 to 2.3%.

In the German market, Vonovia rallied nearly 4%. Sartorius, Brenntag, Deutsche Telekom, Deutsche Bank, Infineon, RWE, Hannover Rueck and Fresenius advanced 1.3 to 2.1%.

Delivery Hero gained 4.7% after the online takeaway food company upgraded its revenue guidance.

Zalando ended 4.3% down. Siemens Energy lost about 2.7%, while E.ON, Continental, Mercedes-Benz and Porsche ended lower by 1 to 1.6%.

In Paris, TotalEnergies climbed 2.5%. BNP Paribas, Societe Generale, AXA, Sanofi, ArcelorMittal, Schneider Electric, Airbus, Engie, Air Liquide and Danone gained 0.7 to 1.4%.

Shares of Italian lenders Intesa Sanpaolo and UniCredit moved higher after the country’s finance ministry clarified that the new windfall tax on banks would not amount to more than 0.1% of their assets.