European shares closed higher on Wednesday as markets sought to reverse their negative trend in Tuesday’s session
The pan-European Stoxx 600 closed 1.7% higher, with technology, media and retail stocks up more than 3% to lead gains as almost all major sectors and stock exchanges closed in positive territory.
Shares of Just Eat Takeaway rose more than 15% following Amazon agreed to buy a 2% stake in its US subsidiary, GrubHub.
Meanwhile, the French EDF facility jumped more than 14% following the French government said it would nationalize 100% of the company.
The higher trading for Europe comes following the pan-European Stoxx 600 Index closed 2.1% lower on Tuesday as fears of a recession intensified in the old continent.
On the economic data front, the Sentix Economic Index for July showed on Monday that investor sentiment in the 19-nation eurozone fell to its lowest level since May 2020, which might point to a recession.
While on Wednesday, Eurozone retail sales rose by 0.2% month over month in May and 0.2% annually, but it was slightly below expectations.
In Britain, traders are watching political developments as Prime Minister Boris Johnson faces a mass exodus of government ministers.
British Finance Minister Rishi Sunak and Health Minister Sajid Gavid resigned on Tuesday in protest of Johnson’s leadership of the government, while several other officials resigned on Wednesday.
