European shares shook off early weakness to end yesterday higher as Cable & Wireless surged after saying it had made progress cutting costs in its US division, but chemicals and oil shares capped market gains.
Bayer, the German chemicals and drugs firm shed another two per cent after Tuesday's mixed results, while BP led oil stocks lower as it started to trade ex-dividend, meaning investors no longer qualify for its latest payout.
But Corus was a stellar spot as investors cheered the Anglo-Dutch steel and aluminium firm's plan to raise £307 million ($513.8 million) from a share issue to boost its balance sheet, help restructuring and make it more competitive.
Corus shares closed 26.7 per cent higher. The FTSE Eurotop 300 index of pan-European blue chips, closed 0.3 per cent firmer at 932 points. It is currently 37 per cent above mid-March's six-year low and about 8.7 per cent above breakeven for the year.
Sentiment remained positive for equities, backed up by improving corporate and macroeconomic fundamentals, but strategists said a lack of major US data until tomorrow may encourage investors to take profits.
"A correction had been due for some time, but it is taking place in much more modest proportions than expected and European markets have shown a surprising resilience most of all in the face of US markets that were running out of breath," said Valerie Cazaban, director of Stratege Finance in Paris.
Cazaban said she kept a bullish stance on equities after recent US data lifted doubts over the strength of the recovery, adding that the renewed strength of the dollar against the euro was a key positive element for European markets.
The DJ Euro Stoxx 50 index ended 0.3 per cent firmer at 2,627.
Strategists said any surprise on the upside when industrial mammoth Siemens, chemicals giant BASF or IT consultant Cap Gemini report today, could spur new market gains.
Stronger-than-expected figures in the preliminary reading of the University of Michigan consumer sentiment November survey, and October retail sales and industrial production reports, all due tomorrow, would also lend support to equities.
Around Europe, London's FTSE 100 closed 0.6 per cent higher, Paris's CAC-40 added 0.2 per cent and Frankfurt's DAX gained 0.5 per cent. Zurich's SMI ended 0.2 per cent firmer.
Over in New York, the Dow Jones industrial Average was up 0.6 per cent at 9,799 by 1700 GMT. The tech-laced Nasdaq Composite Index was up 1.2 per cent at 1,954.