The European markets are modest to moderately higher on Wednesday, amid bargain hunting, as some news on the M&A front helped balance the negative sentiment triggered by concerns about the future of the stimulus programs. That said, markets in Asia fell to stimulus worries, as investors globally fear that other central banks may follow the Bank of Japan's inaction.
Eurozone industrial production grew 0.4 percent in April from a month ago, largely due to higher output of capital goods and non-durable consumer goods, data from Eurostat revealed. Industrial output was forecast to remain flat after rising 0.9 percent in March.
The number of people claiming unemployment benefits in the U.K. decreased by 8,600 in May from April, the Office for National Statistics reported. The decline was sharper than the expected drop of 5,000. The claimant count rate remained unchanged at 4.5 percent as expected by economists.
The Euro Stoxx 50 index of eurozone bluechip stocks is adding 0.61 percent, while the Stoxx Europe 50 index, which includes some major U.K. companies, is gaining 0.47 percent.
The German DAX is gaining 0.1 percent and the UK's FTSE 100 is up 0.2 percent. Both French CAC 40 and Switzerland's SMI are higher by 0.6 percent.
In Frankfurt, Fresenius is rising 2.4 percent and E.ON is advancing 1.6 percent.
Kabel Deutschland is climbing 8.5 percent after UK-based telecom giant Vodafone confirmed a preliminary approach for the company. Vodafone is losing 4.4 percent in London.
Fraport, which reported traffic data for May, is gaining 1.5 percent.
HeidelbergCement is losing around 3 percent. Morgan Stanley cut the stock to ''Equalweight'' from ''Overweight.''
Lufthansa is falling 1.8 percent after the airline was lowered to ''Reduce'' from ''Hold'' at Kepler Cheuvreux.
In Paris, EADS is rising 2.1 percent. The Airbus maker's new A350 plane is expected to perform its first flight in two days' time.
Gas utility GDF Suez is gaining 1.9 percent and drugmaker Sanofi is adding 1.3 percent.
Bucking the trend, Saint-Gobain is declining 3.5 percent and cement giant Lafarge is falling 2 percent.
In London, Aberdeen Asset Management is gaining 4.8 percent. Security firm G4S is adding 2.6 percent and telecom firm BT Group is rising 2.2 percent.
British Sky Broadcasting Group is gaining 2.2 percent on speculation that News Corp. may approach the company again.
Sainsbury is up around 1 percent after reporting growth in first-quarter sales and like-for-like sales.
Severn Trent is declining 8.2 percent, after LongRiver Partners, a consortium led by Borealis Infrastructure Management Inc., including the Kuwait Investment Office and Universities Superannuation Scheme Limited, abandoned an offer for the water utility.
UBS cut Fiat to ''Neutral'' from ''Buy.'' The stock is declining 3 percent in Milan.
Inditex is gaining nearly 4 percent in Madrid. The fashion retailer reported a marginal growth in first-quarter profit.
Hennes and Mauritz is marginally higher in Stockholm. The retailer reported sales data for May.
Across Asia/Pacific, markets were lower as stimulus concerns continued. Australia's All Ordinaries dropped 0.7 percent and Japan's Nikkei 225 slid 0.2 percent. The markets in China and Hong Kong were closed for holidays.
In the U.S., futures point to a higher open on Wall Street. In the previous session, stocks ended sharply lower, as lack of further action from the Bank of Japan to curb volatility in bond markets fueled concerns that global central banks may be less forthcoming with additional monetary stimulus. The Dow fell 0.8 percent, the Nasdaq lost 1.1 percent and the S&P 500 dropped a percent.
In the commodity space, crude for July delivery is adding $0.14 to $95.52 per barrel while August gold is losing $0.2 to $1376.8 a troy ounce.
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Market Analysis
June 05, 2026 16:18 ET A busy week for economic news flow saw a slew of reports being released that reflected the trends in the U.S. labor market. In Europe, economic growth and inflation data gained attention as the European Central Bank and Bank of England head for policy session later in the month. In Asia, the monetary policy session of the Indian central bank was in focus as the country, a major oil importer, reels under the pressures of a weaker rupee and rising inflation.