European Markets Close On Firm Note As Stocks Surge Higher On Bargain Hunting

(RTTNews) - European stocks moved higher on Wednesday as global markets extended gains from the previous session with investors shrugging off fears of recession and focusing on earnings and reacting to the latest batch of economic data.

Markets also reacted positively to Bank of Japan Deputy Governor Uchida Shinichi's comment that the Japanese central bank won't raise interest rates when financial markets are volatile.

The pan European Stoxx 600 gained 1.54%. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 surged 1.75%, Germany's DAX climbed 1.5% and France's CAC ended 1.91% up, while Switzerland's SMI jumped 2.89%.

Among other markets in Europe, Austria, Belgium, Finland, Greece, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Russia, Spain, Sweden and Turkiye ended sharply higher.

Iceland closed modestly up. Denmark declined sharply, while Poland ended flat.

In the UK market, Vodafone Group gained nearly 4% after commencing its EUR 500 million shares buyback program.

Entain, Pershing Square Holdings, Natwest Group, Lloyds Banking Group, Barclays and Ashtead gained 3 to 4%.

Glencore gained more than 2.5%. The miner said it will not spin off its coal business after securing backing from the majority of its investors.

Phoenix Group Holdings, Rentokil Initial, Standard Chartered, Tesco, Aviva, Howden Joinery, British American Tobacco, Diploma, Persimmon, Melrose Industries, Rolls-Royce Holdings, Prudential, Marks & Spencer, Shell, Fresnillo, Halma, M&G and Astrazeneca gained 2 to 3%.

In the German market, Continental rallied nearly 7%. Shares of the car parts maker surged after the company announced solid second-quarter results.

RWE, Bayer, Brenntag, Infineon, Sartorius, Mercedes-Benz, Zalando, Deutsche Boerse, Daimler Truck Holding, MTU Aero Engines, Munich RE, HeidelbergCement, Allianz, Symrise and BASF gained 1.7 to 3%.

Puma tanked more than 11% after trimming its full-year profit forecasts. Commerzbank ended down 3.7% after reporting a drop in quarterly earnings. Beiersdorf lost about 2.1% as the company's quarterly earnings fell short of estimates. Fresenius Medical Care ended lower by 1.25%.

Dutch lender ABN AMRO rallied 5.7% after raising its forecast for full-year net interest income.

In economic releases, German industrial output grew 1.4% on month in June, according to data from Destatis. Production was expected to climb 1% after declining by revised 3.1% in May.

Germany's exports declined more than expected in June, while imports posted a moderate recovery, separate set of data revealed.

France's trade deficit decreased in June as exports rose amid a flat change in imports.The trade deficit dropped to EUR 6.1 billion in June from EUR 7.7 billion in May. The expected shortfall was EUR 7.5 billion.

Elsewhere, revised official data showed Britain's economy grew more strongly than previously thought in 2022.

GDP jumped 4.8% in 2022, instead of the 4.3% previously estimated, the Office for National Statistics said in its annual revisions of historical data stretching back to 1997.

UK house prices are expected to continue a moderate upward trend for the remainder of this year, the mortgage lender Halifax said. House prices grew 0.8% on a monthly basis in July after staying flat over the previous three months. Year-on-year, house price growth accelerated to 2.3% in July compared to 1.9% rise in June.