By Investors Hub
European stocks have moved modestly higher on Wednesday as hopes for a U.S.-China trade deal continued to build and British Prime Minister Theresa May ditched a radical Brexit plan to save her EU exit deal.
Investors also awaited the Federal Reserve’s policy meeting minutes due later in the session for clues on policymakers’ thinking on interest rates and its balance sheet reduction policy.
While the German DAX Index has risen by 0.4 percent, the French CAC 40 Index is up by 0.3 percent and the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index is up by 0.2 percent.
Irish nutrition company Glanbia has soared after it agreed to acquire Watson, a non-dairy ingredient solutions business headquartered in Connecticut for $89 million.
Danish software company Simcorp has also jumped after it announced a share buyback program for up to 12.5 million euros.
Spanish utility Iberdrola has also advanced. The company reported 2018 net profit of 3.014 billion euros, 7.5 percent higher than the previous year’s 2.804 billion euros.
Air France-KLM Group has also gained in Paris after its fourth quarter net loss narrowed to 218 million euros from 928 million euros in the previous year.
Shares of Fresenius shares have jumped after the German healthcare firm said it expects earnings to grow faster than sales from 2020.
Meanwhile, Footasylum shares have plunged in London after larger rival JD Sports Fashion Plc increased its stake in the company to more than 18 percent.
Sainsbury has also slumped after the competition watchdog raised a catalogue of concerns over its merger with Asda.
Adedapo Adesanya