European stocks close midweek mostly higher

By Mucahithan Avcioglu

ISTANBUL (AA) - European stocks closed the third trading day of the week with gains, except for Germany.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 index on Wednesday rose 0.03%, or 0.19 points, to close Wednesday at 618.12.

Britain's FTSE 100 index rose 0.85% to 10,402.34, and the CAC 40 in Paris climbed 1.01% to 8,262.16.

Italy's FTSE MIB index also added 0.47% to close at 46,636.43 points.

On the other hand, Germany's DAX 40 index fell 0.52% to end at 24,652.24.

In Europe, investors are now focusing back on corporate earnings reports following the end of a sell-off in precious metals, while awaiting Thursday interest rate decisions of the European Central Bank and the Bank of England.

Both are expected to keep policy rates unchanged.

Spanish lender Santander closed 3.5% lower after the bank said it would buy US regional lender Webster Bank in a deal worth $12.2 billion.

UBS shares fell 6.3% after the biggest lender in Switzerland revealed a net profit of $1.2 billion in its fourth-quarter earnings, a 56% year-on-year increase that beat analysts' predictions.

According to data released today by Eurostat, annual inflation fell to 1.7% in the eurozone in January from 2% in December. Monthly consumer prices fell 0.5%.

The euro/dollar exchange rate was down 0.2% to 1.1797 as of 6.20 pm GMT.