Europe close: Stocks bounce back ahead of key EU leaders summit
Updated : 00:10
Stocks on the Continent clawed back some of their recent losses on Wednesday, helped by news of further economic relief measures on the other side of the Pond, even as investors waited on a meeting of European Union leaders the next day to decide on a package of additional stimulus measures for the euro area.
Overnight, the US Senate approved a $484bn stimulus package to support payrolls and healthcare services and the White House announced that it would pursue a fourth coronavirus bill with relief measures aimed at local and state governments alongside infrastructure investment.
"From the general tone of markets and news updates, it looks like this rally is still being greeted with a healthy degree of scepticism, with a steady flow of predictions that a fresh decline is just around the corner," said IG chief market analyst Chris Beauchamp.
"But when everybody is looking for it, such an eventuality is unlikely to occur."
By the end of trading, the benchmark Stoxx 600 was 1.80% higher to 330.14, alongside a rise of 1.61% for the German Dax to reach 10,415.03 while the FTSE Mibtel put on 1.91% to finish at 16,765.28.
Brent crude oil futures meanwhile put in a small bounce, adding 5.52% to $20.46 a barrel on the ICE, while similarly-dated West Texas Intermediate climbed 17.1% to $13.95.
On Tuesday night, the Texas Railroad Commission, that state's energy sector regulator, postponed a decision on whether to order a curb in oil output in the State until 5 May, pending the attorney general's decision about the legality of such a move.
Italian 10-year government bond yields fell seven basis points to 2.10%, having earlier surpassed the 2.17% high of 18 March when the European Central Bank unveiled its new bond buying programme.
That was on top of a sharp move higher as Italy announced a further €50bn stimulus programme, sold government debt and after Reuters reported that its premier, Giuseppe Conte did not expect EU leaders to be able to agree on a final solution to address the current economic crisis.