European Shares Rebound Amid Earnings Deluge

(RTTNews) - European stocks traded higher on Wednesday, with earnings and a slew of economic data in focus.

As Iran peace deal hopes fade and inflation concerns mount, traders looked ahead to the high-stakes meeting in Beijing between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping for direction.

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

This was the fastest increase since July 2024, when inflation reached 2.3 percent. EU harmonized inflation accelerated to 2.5 percent in April from 2.0 percent in the prior month.

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

Elsewhere, Destatis reported that German wholesale prices increased 6.3 percent on a yearly basis in April, following March's 4.1 percent 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 percent in the first quarter of 2026 compared to the previous quarter.

The pan-European STOXX 600 jumped 0.7 percent to 610.65 after falling 1 percent on Tuesday.

The German DAX surged 0.8 percent, France's CAC 40 was marginally higher and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 rose half a percent.

German insurer Allianz advanced 1.6 percent after reporting a record profit for the first quarter, lifted by the sale of stakes in joint ventures in India.

Utility giant E.ON climbed 3.4 percent, a day after announcing its planned acquisition of U.K. energy supplier OVO.

Deutsche Telekom, Europe's biggest phone carrier, added 1.5 percent after lifting its full-year guidance.

Zurich Insurance, Switzerland's largest insurer, rallied 3.3 percent after it reported growth in premiums across all segments.

Dutch bank ABN AMRO soared over 7 percent after it reported first-quarter profit above market expectations.

French steel tubes maker Vallourec soared 6 percent after reporting impressive Q1 2026 results.

Train maker Alstom surged 3.7 percent after reporting a record order intake for the second half of fiscal year 2025/2026.

U.K. housebuilder Vistry plummeted 12 percent after slashing its FY26 pre-tax profit guidance.

Building products group Marshalls gained 2 percent after backing its full-year expectations.