BRUSSELS/FRANKFURT/PARIS (dpa-AFX) - The major European markets ended higher on Wednesday as optimism about economic recovery outweighed concerns over geopolitical concerns and reports about spikes in cases of coronavirus infections.
Betting on hopes global governments and central banks will come up with more stimulus measures to boost growth, investors picked up stocks.
The pan European Stoxx 600 climbed up 0.74%. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 advanced 0.17%, Germany's DAX moved up 0.54% and France's CAC 40 ended 0.88% up, while Switzerland's SMI rose 1.67%.
Among other markets in Europe, Denmark, Ireland, Netherlands, Portugal, Sweden and Turkey closed higher. Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Finland, Greece, Norway, Poland, Russia and Spain ended weak.
In the U.K. market, Kingfisher rallied more than 6.5%. Berkeley Group shares gained about 4.2%. The company said it is well placed to manage the current period of uncertainty without call on the Government's furlough scheme or its Covid Corporate Financing Facility.
Aveva Group, Meggitt, Taylor Wimpey, GlaxoSmithKline, Unilever, National Grid and Monti also closed sharply higher.
On the other hand, Carnival declined nearly 6%. Legal & General, IAG, Aviva, Bunzi and Barclays lost 2.5 to 4.4%. Lloyds Banking Group, Standard Life, EasyJet, Royal Bank and BP also ended notably lower.
In the German market, Wirecard moved up by about 5%. RWE, Infineon Technologies, HeidelbergCement and Deutsche Post gained 1.3 to 2%, while Continental, Volkswagen, Lufthansa and Munich RE ended notably lower.
In France, the mood was positive after President Macron pledged €200 million to help domestic research and medicine manufacturing and assured that the government would launch a new initiative this week to reopen some pharmaceutical facilities in France.
Worldline climbed up nearly 4.5%. Safran, Sanofi, Atos, Kering, Vivendi and Capgemini gained 2 to 3%, while Technip, Valeo and Renault tumbled 5.2%, 4.6% and 3.7%, respectively.
Publicis Groupe, Societe Generale, Accor, Bouygues and Sodexo also ended weak.
In economic news, Eurozone inflation moved close to stagnation in May, as initially estimated, to the lowest since 2016, final data from Eurostat showed. Inflation slowed to 0.1% from 0.3% in April. The rate came in line with the estimate published on May 29.This was the lowest since June 2016. In the same period last year, inflation was 1.2%.
On a monthly basis, the harmonized index of consumer prices dropped 0.1% in May. The monthly rate also matched preliminary estimate.
Eurozone's construction output declined at a slower pace in April, but the decline was still sharp, and output levels hit their record lows, as the lockdown restrictions imposed to slow the spread of the coronavirus hurt activity, preliminary data from the statistical office Eurostat showed.
Construction output decreased 14.6% month-on-month in April after a 15.7% fall in the previous month. In the EU, construction output decreased 11.7% monthly after a 13.6% decline in March.
A report from the Office for National Statistics said U.K. inflation eased to a four-year low in May, easing to 0.5%, from 0.8% in April. On a monthly basis, consumer prices remained unchanged after easing 0.2% in April. Prices were expected to drop 0.1%.
According to a report from the European Automobile Manufacturers Association, or ACEA, Europe's car registrations continued to fall sharply in May, though at a softer rate.
Passenger car sales declined 52.3% year-on-year in May, following a 76.3% fall in April. In March, sales fell 55.1%. Among the four major markets, demand in Spain declined the most by, down 72.7%. Car sales in France declined 50.3%, while in Italy and Germany, demand fell 49.6% and 49.5%, respectively.
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX