PARIS (dpa-AFX) - The major European markets extended recent gains on Wednesday with an eye towards hitting fresh record closing highs. The markets were in the green all day, opening higher and then fading a bit before rallying to finish at daily highs.
Investor sentiment was underpinned by steadier oil prices, solid corporate earnings and renewed enthusiasm for the artificial intelligence trade.
The FTSE in London advanced 83.88 points or 0.78 percent to finish at 10,835.47, while the DAX in Germany rallied 315.32 points or 1.20 percent to close at 26,662.77, the CAC 40 in France added 54.28 points or 0.66 percent and the SMI in Switzerland rose 15.92 points or 0.11 percent to finish at 15,053.86.
The markets started tracking higher again after Wall Street opened, and they tracked the sharp rebound by the tech shares on the NASDAQ.
In economic news, Germany's consumer price inflation eased to a three-month low in October, as estimated, driven by the moderation in energy price growth. The consumer price index rose 2.8 percent year-on-year, following a 3.3 percent increase in September. The rate was the lowest since July and came in line with the estimate published on October 30.
Italy's industrial production expanded more-than-expected in September - up 1.2 percent on a monthly basis in September, in contrast to the 1.2 percent decrease in August. Output was forecast to increase by 0.7 percent.
Consumer spending in Sweden increased for the second straight month in October. Household consumption rose 1.2 percent month-on-month in October, following a 0.5 percent rebound in September.
In corporate news, Swiss Life Holding AG (SLW1.F, SZLMY, SLHN.SW) reported Wednesday higher fee income and Gross written premiums in the first nine months of 2026. In the nine-month period, the Swiss life insurance company's fee income totaled 2.04 billion Swiss francs, higher than prior year's 1.91 billion francs. The 8 percent growth in local currency was driven by owned IFAs, own and third-party products and services, as well as Swiss Life Asset Managers.
Copyright(c) 2026 RTTNews.com. All Rights Reserved
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX
© 2026 AFX News