Source: Sharecast
The pan-regional Stoxx 600 was up 0.48% at 551.8. Germany’s DAX outperformed with a rise of 0.75% and France’s CAC 40 gained 0.74%.
Trump doubled tariffs on foreign steel and aluminium imports to 50% in the latest salvo of is trade war with the rest of the world.
The president signed an executive order on Tuesday which stated that the new levy would “more effectively counter foreign countries that continue to offload low-priced, excess steel and aluminum in the United States market and thereby undercut the competitiveness of the United States steel and aluminum industries”.
Wednesday is also deadline day for the US’s trading partners to hand in proposals for deals that might help them avoid Trump's import tariffs from taking effect next month.
Sentiment was given a boost when a closely followed gauge of private-sector business conditions across the eurozone was revised higher on Wednesday, meaning economic activity narrowly avoided stagnating in May.
"German stocks are leading European markets higher, with manufacturing names Airbus, Siemens, and Infineon tech outperforming," said Marketscope analyst Joshua Mahony.
"In a morning that sees a raft of final PMI figures released in Europe, we have seen largely positive updates that have helped push the eurozone and UK composite metrics back up into expansion territory for May. Coming hot off the heels of yesterday’s CPI decline, the largely flatlining eurozone economy provides a clear signal for (ECB chief Christine) Lagarde & co to cut rates once again tomorrow."
Final estimates for the S&P Global/Hamburg Commercial Bank’s composite purchasing managers’ index (PMI) for the single-currency region came in at 50.2 in May, down from 50.4 in April but above the flash reading of 49.5 released two weeks ago.
A reading below 50 signals a decrease in activity, and this would have been the first contraction for the eurozone private sector so far this year.
In equity news, shares in Redcare Pharmacy tanked after Kepler Cheuvreux downgraded the stock to 'hold' from 'buy', citing structural risks to the company’s e-prescription momentum.
Airbus shares rose after a report that Chinese airlines are considering ordering hundreds of aircraft as soon as next month.
Reporting by Frank Prenesti for Sharecast.com