European Markets Close Higher Again

European markets ended mostly higher on Wednesday amid continued optimism about global economic recovery thanks to the strong momentum in vaccination campaign.

The stability in the bond market aided sentiment. U.S. Treasury yields stabilized after the successful auction of $58 billion in three-year notes.

Investors were also looking ahead to the European Central Bank’s monetary policy statement and the passage of the stimulus bill in the U.S. The European Central Bank is seen stepping up its pace of emergency asset purchases to counter rising bond yields, when it meets on Thursday.

The pan European Stoxx 600 ended 0.4% up. Germany’s DAX surged up 0.71% to a new high, France’s CAC 40 climbed 1.11%, Switzerland’s SMI gained 0.48%, while the U.K.’s FTSE 100 edged down 0.07%.

Among other markets in Europe, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Iceland, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and Turkey closed higher.

Austria, Belgium and Ireland ended flat, while Russia closed weak.

In the UK market, Just Eat Takeaway gained more than 6% after saying it sees growth ahead. M&G, Spirax-Sarco Engineering, Kingfisher, Segro, Sainsbury J, Pearson, Berkeley Group Holdings, Taylor Wimpey, Diageo and Persimmon gained 1.5 to 4%.

Restaurant Group shares saw some brisk buying after the company reported a much widened pretax loss for 2020 and said it is seeking to raise £175m from its shareholders to pay down debt and use as a buffer in case of any Covid resurgence.

British Land, Antofagasta, BHP Group, Melrose Industries, Rio Tinto, Auto Trader Group, Sage Group, Land Securities, Standard Life and IAG ended lower by 2 to 4%.

In France, Saint Gobain, Air Liquide, Orange, Kering, Pernod Ricard, LOreal, LVMH, Unibail Rodamco, Danone, Sanofi, Thales and Hermes International closed sharply higher, while STMicroElectronics, WorldLine, Safran, ArcelorMittal, Air France-KLM, Sodexo, Airbus and Technip ended notably lower.

In the German market, Deutsche Telekom gained about 5%. Adidas shares ended sharply higher after the company said it expects strong top-line increase with sales to grow at a mid-to high-teens rate in fiscal 2021.

Bayer, Fresenius Medical Care, Linde, BMW, Volkswagen, Beiersdorf and Vonovia also ended with strong gains.

On the other hand, Infineon Technologies, MTU Aero Engines, Lufthansa, Deutsche Post, Continental and Thyssenkrupp ended lower by 1 to 4%.

In economic releases, France’s industrial production grew 3.3% month-on-month in January, reversing a 0.7% fall in December, data from the statistical office Insee showed. Economists had forecast an increase of 0.5%.