BRUSSELS/FRANKFURT/PARIS (dpa-AFX) - European stocks recovered after a weak start and settled on a positive note on Wednesday, as investors tracked steady U.S. markets and indulged in some bargain hunting at several counters.
Concerns about stretched valuations in the tech sector rendered the mood bearish on Tuesday and for some duration of the session this morning. Investors digested the latest batch of earnings and economic updates.
The pan European Stoxx 600 gained 0.23%. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 edged up 0.08%, Germany's DAX climbed 0.41% and France's CAC 40 ended with a gain of 0.64%. Switzerland's SMI gained 0.46%.
Among other markets in Europe, Iceland, Ireland, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and Turkiye closed higher.
Belgium, Denmark, Finland and Russia ended weak, while Greece and Poland closed flat.
In the UK market, Coca-Cola Europacific Partners and Burberry Group gained 2.84% and 2.5%, respectively.
Marks & Spencer gained 1.6% despite profits at the retailer more than halved in first half after a major cyberattack earlier this year disrupted its online operations.
Barratt Redrow, Tesco, British American Tobacco, ICG and Imperial Brands also ended notably higher.
Smith & Nephew, Babcock International, Scottish Mortgage, Jd Sports Fashion, Fresnillo, WPP and Entain ended weak.
In the German market, BMW rallied about 6.5% as it posted a higher-than-forecast profit margin in its core car business in the third quarter.
Mercedes-Benz, Daimler Truck Holding and Volkswagen gained 2.8 to 4%. Porsche Automobil climbed by about 2%.
BASF, Deutsche Post, Hannover Rueck, Heidelberg Materials, Symrise, Munich RE, Fresenius Medical Care and Brenntag also closed with strong gains.
Fresenius reported that its third quarter net income, excluding Fresenius Medical Care or FMC, increased 13% to 351 million euros from 312 million euros in the prior year. Quarterly core earnings per share rose by 14% in constant currency to 0.62 euros.
Siemens Healthineers tumbled more than 8% after reporting lower profits in the fourth quarter. Looking ahead for fiscal year 2026, the company expects adjusted basic earnings per share to be between 2.20 euros and 2.40 euros, with comparable revenue growth of 5-6% from the prior year.
Qiagen, Merck, Siemens Energy, Bayer, Gea Group, Vonovia, Rheinmetall and Fresenius also ended notably lower.
In the French market, Teleperformance surged about 4.5%. Renault, Pernod Ricard, Accor, Stellantis, Carrefour, Saint Gobain, Veolia Environment and Schneider Electric also posted impressive gains.
Bouygues moved up sharply. The company reported a stronger-than-expected operating profit of €1.81 billion for the first nine months of 2025. Net income came in at 735 million euros for the nine months ended September 2025, compared to 687 million euros a year ago.
Edenred ended nearly 3% down. Thales, Eurofins Scientific, Sanofi, Unibail Rodamco, STMicroElectronics and Credit Agricole ended with sharp to moderate losses.
In economic news, Germany's factory orders rebounded at a stronger-than-expected pace in September driven by higher demand for auto and electrical equipments.
Factory orders expanded 1.1% in September from August, Destatis reporte. Orders were forecast to advance 0.9%, reversing a revised 0.4% drop in August. Excluding large-scale orders, new orders were 1.9% higher than in the previous month.
Data from S&P Global showed the HCOB Germany Composite PMI was revised slightly higher to 53.9 in October 2025 from a preliminary of 53.8, compared to 52 in September. The reading pointed to the strongest growth in private sector activity since May 2023.
Services sector activity improved sharply. The Services PMI climbed to 54.6 in October from 51.5 a month earlier, while the manufacturing PMI reading came in at 49.6, compared to 49.5 in September.
Data from statistical office INSEE showed industrial production in France rose 0.8% month-on-month in September 2025, rebounding from an upwardly revised 0.9% decline in August and exceeding market expectations of a 0.1% gain.
Data from S&P Global showed the HCOB France Composite PMI for October was revised higher to 47.7, compared to the flash estimate of 46.8 but coming below September's reading of 48.1. This marked the 14th consecutive month of contraction in private sector activity and the sharpest since February.
Services PMI came in at 48.0 for October, down from 48.5 in September, while manufacturing PMI reading for October was 48.8, up from 48.2 a month earlier.
The S&P Global UK Composite PMI rose to 52.2 in October of 2025 from 50.1 in the previous month, well above the preliminary estimates of 51.1.
The services sector expanded sharply, with the PMI reading coming in at 52.3 in October, up from 50.8 in September. The manufacturing PMI edged up slightly to 49.7 from 49.6 in the previous month.
Data from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders Limited (SMMT) showed new car sales in the UK inched higher by 0.5% from the previous year to 144,948 in October, holding the 13.7% jump from the previous.
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