European shares rose on Wednesday, tracking gains made by Wall Street in the evening, after Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell expressed a less hawkish stance on monetary policy during testimony before Congress.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index rose 0.5% by 0813 GMT, following the path of global stocks, after Powell said the US economy was ready to start tightening monetary policy, but it could take months to decide whether to reduce the central bank’s nine trillion dollar financial list.
The metals sector led the gains, rising 2% after inflation data revealed a greater opportunity to ease monetary policy in China, while technology shares rose for the second consecutive session.
Dutch company Philips tumbled 11.1 percent after it said it expected core earnings to fall by about 40 percent in the fourth quarter due to a shortage of spare parts and a recall of air purifiers.
(Archyde.com)
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