BRUSSELS/FRANKFURT/PARIS (dpa-AFX) - The European markets ended Wednesday's session with mixed results. Shares of bank stocks rallied after Federal Reserve chair nominee Jerome Powell said he favors loosening some bank regulations.
The FTSE 100 of the UK was among the weakest performers Wednesday. UK stocks were under pressure due to a surge in the value of the British pound following media reports that Britain and the EU have edged closer towards a deal on Brexit divorce bill, enabling to begin talks on an interim trade deal.
The U.K. has reportedly offered to pay more than €50 billion, although the final amount will be dependent on how each side calculates the figure from an 'agreed methodology'.
Settling the Brexit bill is a crucial condition for moving talks on to future relations including a future free trade agreement.
Euro area financial stability situation remains positive, supported by strong economic growth, but the threat of an abrupt market correction due to global risks remain, the European Central Bank said in a report released Wednesday.
'Improved economic conditions underpin the assessment that there is no generalized overvaluation in euro area financial markets,' the ECB's latest Financial Stability Review said.
'Nevertheless, global risks in particular may trigger financial asset market corrections with negative repercussions on financial stability.'
The pan-European Stoxx Europe 600 index advanced 1.14 percent. The Euro Stoxx 50 index of eurozone bluechip stocks increased 0.18 percent, while the Stoxx Europe 50 index, which includes some major U.K. companies, added 0.11 percent.
The DAX of Germany climbed 0.02 percent and the CAC 40 of France rose 0.14 percent. The FTSE 100 of the U.K. declined 0.90 percent and the SMI of Switzerland finished lower by 0.17 percent.
In Frankfurt, lighting manufacturer Osram Licht fell 1.06 percent despite a broker upgrade.
Munich Re rose 1.43 percent. Its Ergo unit has dropped plans to sell traditional life insurance policies following an in-depth assessment of non-binding offers submitted by potential buyers and a discussion of the various options available.
In Paris, Air France-KLM climbed 0.52 percent. The airline has signed a cooperation agreement with India's Jet Airways for the development of their operations between Europe and India.
In London, London Stock Exchange Group increased 0.13 percent after its chief executive, Xavier Rolet, agreed to step down with immediate effect at the board's request amid a bruising boardroom row.
Soft drinks firm Britvic soared 6.92 percent after reporting a 5 percent rise in full-year adjusted core earnings.
Banking group BBVA rallied 1.99 percent in Madrid after it reached an agreement to sell an 80 percent stake in real-estate business to Cerberus for about 4 billion euros.
Banco Santander gained 1.84 percent after approving changes to its executive board as well as a goodwill impairment of 600 million euros.
Eurozone economic confidence continued to improve in November hitting a 17-year high, suggesting robust growth momentum towards the end of the year.
The economic confidence index improved to 114.6 from a revised 114.1 in the previous month, survey data from the European Commission showed Wednesday. The score was in line with expectations and the highest since October 2000.
Germany's inflation accelerated for the first time in three months in November and exceeded economists' expectations, preliminary data from Destatis showed on Wednesday. The consumer price index rose 1.8 percent year-on-year following 1.6 percent increase in October. Economists had forecast 1.7 percent inflation.
France's economic growth matched the initial estimate in the third quarter, the second estimate from the statistical office Insee showed Wednesday. Gross domestic product grew 0.5 percent sequentially, in line with the estimate released on October 31, but slightly slower than the 0.6 percent expansion posted in the second quarter.
French consumer spending declined notably in October, after rebounding in the previous month, figures from the statistical office INSEE showed Wednesday. Consumer spending dropped 1.9 percent month-over-month in October, reversing a 1.0 percent rise in September.
UK mortgage approvals declined to a 13-month low in October, the Bank of England showed Wednesday. The number of mortgages approved in October fell to 64,575 from 66,111 in September. The number was forecast to drop to 65,000. This was the lowest since September 2016, when it totaled 64,144.
Shop prices in the United Kingdom were down 0.1 percent on year in November, the British Retail Consortium said on Wednesday. That was in line with expectations and unchanged from the October reading.
A report released by the Commerce Department on Wednesday showed stronger than previously estimated U.S. economic growth in the third quarter.
The report said real gross domestic product surged up by an upwardly revised 3.3 percent in the third quarter compared to the originally reported 3.0 percent jump. Economists had expected the increase in GDP to be upwardly revised to 3.2 percent.
Primarily reflecting a bounce back in the South after hurricane-related disruptions in the previous month, the National Association of Realtors released a report on Wednesday showing a bigger than expected jump in pending home sales in the U.S. in the month of October.
NAR said its pending home sales index surged up by 3.5 percent to 109.3 in October after dipping by 0.4 percent to a downwardly revised 105.6 in September. Economists had expected pending home sales to climb by 1.0 percent.
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX