European Markets Close On Firm Note

(RTTNews) - European stocks closed higher on Wednesday, bouncing back fairly well from previous session's losses, as investors reacted to earnings and looked ahead to the U.S.-China summit in Beijing, in addition to following the developments on the Middle East conflict front.

The pan European Stoxx 600 climbed 0.79%. The UK's FTSE 100 moved up 0.58% despite political uncertainty. Germany's DAX and France's CAC 40 gained 0.76% and 0.35%, respectively. Switzerland's SMI closed 0.71% up.

Among other markets in Europe, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Ireland, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Russia and Spain ended higher.

Czech Republic and Türkiye closed weak, while Greece, Norway and Sweden ended flat.

In the UK market, miners moved up sharply, contributing significantly to market's firm close. Antofagasta climbed 8.75%, while Anglo American Plc, Rio Tinto and Fresnillo gained 4.5%, 4.4% and 4%, respectively. Endeavour Mining ended 2% up, while Glencore gained 3.3%.

Metlen Energy & Metals surged 7.2%. Intertek Group advanced 5.3%. British American Tobacco ended 3.75% up while Polar Capital Technology Trust, Standard Chartered, Vodafone Group, Prudential, M&G, HSBC Holdings, Compass Group, DCC and Segro also posted strong gains.

Babcock International moved up after announcing a new £200 million buyback alongside stronger annual revenue supported by its nuclear and aviation businesses.

Airtel Africa tanked more than 13%. Relx fell nearly 5% and Experian closed lower by 4.7%. The Sage Group, Imperial Brands, Coca-Cola Europacific Partners, Spirax Group and Associated British Foods lost 1.7%-3.6%.

In the German market, Infineon jumped nearly 11%.

Merck climbed 7.2%. Scout24 gained 5.8%. Siemens Energy moved up more than 4.5%.

E.ON gained about 3.5% The utility giant's stock moved higher, buoyed by the announcement of a planned acquisition of U.K. energy supplier OVO.

Deutsche Telekom gained about 1.3%. Europe's biggest phone carrier Deutsche Telekom gained about 1.3% after lifting its full-year guidance.

Allianz moved up 1.1%, lifted by a record profit in the first quarter thanks to sale of stakes in joint ventures in India.

Daimler Truck Holdings, Deutsche Bank, BASF, Adidas and Zalando gained 1.2%-1.8%. Commerzbank and Mercedes-Benz also closed on firm note.

Brenntag closed down by 2.3% after reporting first-quarter net profit of Euro 98 million, compared with Euro 135 million in the year-ago quarter. Earnings per share dropped to Euro 0.68 compared with uro 0.93 a year earlier.

RWE shed about 2.1%. RWE's first-quarter earnings totaled EUR20 million, or EUR0.03 per share, compared with EUR791 million, or EUR1.07 per share, last year.

SAP, Rheinmetall, Gea Group, Fresenius, Fresenius Medical Care, Deutsche Boerse, Qiagen, Munich RE, Beiersdorf, Bayer and Heidelberg Materials ended notably lower.

In the French market, STMicroelectronics jumped nearly 8.5%. ArcelorMittal moved up 7%. Stellantis gained nearly 4%, while EssilorLuxottica, Carrefour and Renault gained 2.2%-2.8%.

Legrand, Schneider Electric, BNP Paribas, Engie, Bureau Veritas and Accor also ended on a firm note.

Steel tubes maker Vallourec soared 7.5% after reporting impressive Q1 2026 results.

Train maker Alstom surged more than 3% after reporting a record order intake for the second half of fiscal year 2025/2026.

Capgemini, Danone, Vinci, Publicis Groupe, Pernod Ricard, Teleperformance and Thales lost 1%-2.5%.

In economic news, data from Destatis showed German wholesale prices increased 6.3% on a yearly basis in April, following March's 4.1% increase, as the U.S.-Iran warn lifted energy and raw material prices. The latest inflation was the highest since February 2023.

Eurostat confirmed that the Eurozone economy grew by 0.1% in the first quarter of 2026 compared to the previous quarter.

France's consumer price inflation rose to 2.2% in April, in line with the flash estimate, and up from 1.7% in March, final data from the statistical office INSEE showed.

This was the fastest increase since July 2024, when inflation reached 2.3%. EU harmonized inflation accelerated to 2.5% in April from 2% in the prior month.

Separate data revealed that France's unemployment rate unexpectedly rose to 8.1% in the first quarter, marking the highest since the first quarter of 2021.

Eurostat confirmed that the Eurozone economy grew by 0.1% in the first quarter of 2026 compared to the previous quarter.