Investing.com - European stocks were higher on Wednesday, as Chinese markets stabilized after the previous sessions' broad selloff and as investors eyed the Federal Reserve's upcoming policy statement.
During European morning trade, the EURO STOXX 50 gained 0.74%, France’s CAC 40 advanced 0.84%, while Germany’s DAX 30 climbed 0.60%.
European equities recovered from losses posted after stocks in Shanghai posted their largest one day decline in eight years on Monday and continued to fall on Tuesday, despite expectations for more government support.
Chinese markets found some stability on Wednesday, following pledges from Chinese regulators to buy shares to stabilize stocks if needed and hints of more policy easing from the central bank.
Financial stocks were mostly higher, as French lenders BNP Paribas (PARIS:BNPP) and Societe Generale (PARIS:SOGN) gained 0.04% and 0.44%, although Germany's Deutsche Bank (XETRA:DBKGn) slipped 0.16%.
Among peripheral lenders, Italy's Intesa Sanpaolo (MILAN:ISP) and Unicredit (MILAN:CRDI) added 0.17% and 0.20% respectively, while Spanish banks BBVA (MADRID:BBVA) and Banco Santander (MADRID:SAN) inched up 0.05% and 0.08%.
Elsewhere, LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SA (PARIS:LVMH) surged 2.50% after the world’s largest luxury-goods maker reported its strongest earnings increase in three years.
On the downside, Schneider Electric (PARIS:SCHN) SE dropped 0.57% after the French group cut its 2015 forecasts for profitability and revenue.
In London, FTSE 100 advanced 0.71%, still boosted by Hikma Pharmaceuticals PLC (LONDON:HIK), whose shares were up 3.21%, a day after the company agreed to buy Boehringer Ingelheim GmbH’s Roxane business for $2.65 billion in cash and stock.
Financial stocks added to gains, as HSBC Holdings (LONDON:HSBA) advanced 0.45%, while Lloyds Banking (LONDON:LLOY) and the Royal Bank of Scotland (LONDON:RBS) climbed 0.54% and 0.57% resepectively. Barclays (LONDON:BARC) saw shares surge 2.46% after the lender reported a rise in profit.
Mining stocks were also on the upside. Shares in Fresnillo (LONDON:FRES) rose 0.24% and Glencore (LONDON:GLEN) gained 0.45%, while rivals Bhp Billiton (LONDON:BLT) and Rio Tinto (LONDON:RIO) jumped 0.83% and 0.91% respectively.
In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a higher open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.24% gain, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.20% rise, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.26% increase.