European stock markets mostly climbed on Wednesday, buoyed by the ongoing positive sentiment from the quarterly earnings season and a rebound in the U.S. technology sector.
By 03:40 ET (08:40 GMT), Germany’s DAX index gained 0.2%, while the UK’s FTSE 100 and France’s CAC 40 edged higher by 0.3% and 0.1%, respectively. The positive tone in Europe was attributed to the strong performance of U.S. tech stocks, particularly electric vehicle giant Tesla. Tesla’s stock surged in premarket trading despite the company flagging plans to develop cheaper EV models.
Earnings season continued in Europe, with mixed results from various companies. Volvo Car’s stock fell over 7% after the Swedish automaker reported lower revenue and losses at its Polestar business. French telecommunications firm Orange also declined 2% after reporting slower-than-expected first-quarter revenue growth. Conversely, Swiss pharmaceutical company Roche rose 1.7% following an uptick in first-quarter sales, driven by demand for its newer medicines and diagnostics.
Meanwhile, investors await the release of Germany’s Ifo Institute’s survey on business conditions and expectations for April. Market expectations indicate a slight improvement in sentiment, although this is unlikely to deter the European Central Bank from cutting interest rates in June.
In energy markets, oil prices rose slightly, supported by industry data showing a surprise drop in U.S. inventories. U.S. crude futures traded 0.3% higher at $83.58 per barrel, and Brent contracts gained 0.3% to $88.67 per barrel. Traders remain focused on geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, where Israel has heavily shelled parts of Gaza.
In other markets, gold futures advanced 0.2% to $2,338.65 per ounce, and the EUR/USD exchange rate dropped 0.1% to 1.0694.
