Qatar tribune dpa Brussels European stocks closed higher on Wednesday amid rising optimism about an interest rate cut by the European Central Bank (ECB) on Thursday. Data showing an increase in Eurozone Composite PMI, and growth in France’s industrial output helped as well in lifting investor sentiment. The pan European Stoxx 600 climbed 0.
81 percent. The U.K.
’s FTSE 100 gained 0.18 percent, Germany’s DAX climbed 0.93 percent and France’s CAC 40 jumped 0.
87 percent, while Switzerland’s SMI ended stronger by 1.17 percent. Among other markets in Europe, Austria, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Netherlands, Poland, Russia, Spain and Sweden ended higher.
Belgium, Norway, Portugal and Turkiye closed weak, while Iceland ended flat. In the UK market, St. James’s Place and Smith & Nephew gained about 3.
6 percent and 3.3 percent, respectively. Rentokil Initial, Ocado Group, GSK, Scottish Mortgage, RightMove, Ashtead Group, Admiral Group, Pershing Square Holdings, Fresnillo, Haleon, Imperial Brands, Pearson and Diploma gained 1.
5 to 2.6 percent. B&M European Value Retail tumbled 7.
2 percent. National Grid lost 6.6 percent.
Centrica ended down 4.8 percent after saying its performance so far this year has been in line with analyst expectations.JD Sports Fashion ended lower by 4.
6 percent. Lloyds Banking Group, Sainsbury (J), Mondia, Next, Anglo American Plc and Frasers Group also ended notably lower. In the German market, Sartorius rallied more than 4 percent.
Merck, Siemens, Deutsc.
