BRUSSELS/FRANKFURT/PARIS (dpa-AFX) - European markets closed higher on Wednesday as investors picked up stocks amid optimism about progress in U.S.-China trade talks and on data showing a notable increase in U.S. durable goods orders in in the month of July.
Investors also reacted positively to Germany's coalition parties' decision to extend economic measures at a cost of up to 10 billion euros, including prolonging a short-time work program for an extra year to cushion the effects of coronavirus crisis.
The French government is set to present its 100 billion euro stimulus plan next week.
Investors were also looking ahead to the Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's live-streamed speech at the Jackson Hole economic symposium. Powell's speech, which is scheduled to be begin before the start of trading on Thursday, is likley to provide clues about the outlook for monetary policy.
The pan European Stoxx 600 moved up 0.91%. Germany's DAX advanced 0.98%, France's CAC 40 climbed up 0.8% and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 edged up 0.14%, while Switzerland's SMI ended up 0.77%.
Among other markets in Europe, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Spain, Sweden and Turkey ended higher.
Norway closed modestly lower, while Czech Republic ended flat.
The mood was cautious early on in the session, but stocks gained in strength gradually as the session progressed, and the mood turned fairly positive after data showed U.S. durable goods orders surged up more than 11% in July.
In the U.K. market, Aveva Group shares climbed more than 7%. Kingfisher, Johnson Mathey, Fresnillo, Burberry Group, The Sage Group, IAG and Rightmove gained 2 to 3.1%.
Carnival plunged more than 5%, while Rolls-Royce Holdings, BP, Severn Trent, Vodafone, Centrica and Meggitt lost 2 to 4.5%.
In Germany, Infineon Technologies, BMW, Deutsche Post, Volkswagen, SAP, Deutsche Bank and Daimler gained 1.6 to 2.6%, while Wirecard plunged nearly 8.5%.
In the French market, ArcelorMittal gained more than 4%, Atos surged up 3.85% and STMicroElectronics moved up 2.65%.
Worldline, Kering, Hermes International, BNP Paribas, Publicis Groupe and Saint Gobain were the other notable gainers, while Technip and Airbus declined 2.1% and 1.5%, respectively.
In the Swedish market, shares of medical equipment group Elekta rose sharply after reporting stronger-than-expected earnings.
In economic news, French consumer confidence remained stable in August, survey data from the statistical office Insee showed. The consumer sentiment index held steady at 94.0 in August. The score came in line with expectations.
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