BRUSSELS/FRANKFURT/PARIS (dpa-AFX) - U.K. stocks advanced on Wednesday as commodity-linked stocks recovered from sharp falls in the previous session.
In economic releases, U.K. house prices dropped for the first time in five months in June as the government phases out stamp duty holiday, data from Lloyds Bank subsidiary Halifax and IHS Markit showed.
House prices decreased 0.5 percent on a monthly basis in June, reversing a 1.2 percent rise in May.
Investors await the release of the minutes of the Federal Reserve meeting later today, which could reveal more hawkish ideas for interest rates.
The benchmark FTSE 100 rose 44 points, or 0.6 percent, to 7,145 after closing 0.9 percent lower the previous day.
Oil major Royal Dutch Shell rose over 2 percent. The company said it would boost returns to shareholders via share buybacks or dividends earlier than expected.
BP Plc gained 1 percent as oil recouped some of the previous session's losses. Miners Anglo American, Antofagasta and Glencore were up 2-3 percent.
JD Wetherspoon shares fell over 1 percent. The company reported that its like-for-like sales from 17 May to 4 July, when pubs were fully open, were down 14.6 percent.
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX