Investing.com – European stock markets were mostly higher on Wednesday, largely maintaining their recent positive tone as quarterly earnings season gets into full swing.
At 03:40 ET (08:40 GMT), Germany was trading up 0.2%, the UK was up 0.3%, while France was trading down 0.1%. .
US tech rebound boosts global confidence
European stocks benefited from the positive tone generated globally by a prolonged rebound in the U.S. technology sector, highlighted by strong gains at electric vehicle giant Tesla (NASDAQ:) after Tuesday’s close.
Tesla stock jumped in premarket trading even as the automaker announced accelerated plans to develop cheaper electric vehicle models, a key part of its lofty valuation, overshadowing disappointing earnings.
There are more earnings from the US Big Tech sector to digest on Wednesday, with meta-platform parent Facebook (NASDAQ:) due later, followed on Thursday by Microsoft (NASDAQ:) and Google parent Alphabet (NASDAQ:) ).
European profits continue
Back in Europe, there are also company results to digest.
Volvo (OTC:) Car (ST:) stock fell more than 7% after the Swedish automaker’s operating profits missed forecasts due to falling revenue and losses at its Polestar business, although the company predicted good demand for its vehicles this year.
Orange (EPA:) shares fell 2% after the French telecoms giant reported slower-than-expected first-quarter revenue growth following falling sales at its European unit, the largest commercial group of the company outside France.
Roche (SIX:) shares rose 1.7% after the Swiss pharmaceutical company reported a slight rise in first-quarter sales, although falling demand for its Covid-19 products continues to weigh.
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Sales rose 2% at constant currencies, driven by stronger demand for Roche’s new medicines and diagnostics, the company said, while, excluding Covid-19 products, sales increased 7%.
German Ifo shows improvement
The main economic data released Wednesday in Europe will be those from Germany on economic conditions and expectations for April.
This should signal a slight improvement in confidence in Europe’s largest economy, although it is unlikely to stop the European Central Bank from cutting interest rates in June, as a number of countries have recently reported. ECB officials, including President Christine Lagarde.
Crude oil gains following fall in US stocks
Oil prices rose slightly on Wednesday, boosted by industrial data showing a surprise drop in U.S. inventories, while tensions in the Middle East remain in focus.
At 2:05 a.m. ET, futures were trading 0.3% higher at $83.58 per barrel, while the contract was up 0.3% at $88.67 per barrel.
U.S. crude inventories fell by just over 3 million barrels in the week ended April 19, according to data from , released Tuesday. Production of around 800,000 barrels was expected.
Official data on US crude inventories is expected to be confirmed later on Wednesday.
Traders will also focus on the latest developments in the Middle East, with Israel’s heavy bombing of parts of Gaza on Tuesday, although the impact on oil supplies remains limited for now.
Additionally, the price rose 0.2% to $2,338.65/ounce, while trading 0.1% lower at 1.0694.
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