By Peter Nurse
Investing.com - European stock markets traded higher Wednesday, rebounding from Tuesday’s late sharp pullback in the tech sector as investors digest a fresh round of corporate earnings.
At 3:55 AM ET (0850 GMT), the DAX in Germany traded 1.4% higher, the CAC 40 in France rose 0.9% and the U.K.’s FTSE 100 climbed 1.1%.
The tech sector saw late selling in Europe Tuesday, following the lead on Wall Street, on concerns of rising interest rates following comments by Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen.
However, this weakness has proved short-lived with the market acknowledging that Yellen later tried to clarify her comments, while Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell has been pretty clear that the U.S. central bank plans to keep its accommodative policies in place for some time.
Turning back to Europe, the earnings season has continued apace, with results largely coming in on the positive side.
Stellantis (PA:STLA) stock rose 2.5% after the carmaker reported better-than-expected quarterly revenue but warned about the impact of a global shortage of semiconductors. The company added 1.5 percent in market share in its home European market in the first complete quarter since its creation.
Hugo Boss (DE:BOSSn) stock rose 3%, to a new 52-week high, after the German fashion house saw first-quarter sales almost double in mainland China, and predicted a rebound in the rest of the business in the course of the year.
Deutsche Post (OTC:DPSGY) stock rose 0.6% after the German raised its full-year profit forecast Wednesday after more than tripling its operating earnings in the first quarter, while Veolia (PA:VIE) stock rose 1% after the French utility posted higher first quarter earnings on Wednesday and kept its 2021 financial outlook.
AP Moeller-Maersk (CSE:MAERSKb) stock rose 3% after the Danish shipping giant launched a new $5 billion share buyback program as rising demand and freight rates boosted earnings.
Additionally, the big miners, including Rio Tinto (NYSE:RIO), BHP Group (NYSE:BHP) and Anglo American (LON:AAL), all rose about 2% as copper prices rose past a key psychological level of $10,000 a ton.
Oil prices surged Wednesday, with a sharp fall in U.S. crude stockpiles adding to increased optimism the reopening drives in Europe and the U.S. will boost overall fuel demand.
U.S. crude oil supply data from the American Petroleum Institute showed a draw of 7.69 million barrels for the week ended April 30, the largest drop since late January. Investors now await data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration, due later in the day, for confirmation.
U.S. crude futures traded 1.1% higher at $66.45 a barrel, while the Brent contract rose 3.2% to $69.72.
Elsewhere, gold futures rose 0.1% to $1,776.75/oz, while EUR/USD traded 0.2% lower at 1.1994.