European stocks rallied on Wednesday as upbeat news from Royal Dutch Shell and UK housebuilder Redrow helped lift sentiment.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 index was up 0.62% after a fall on Tuesday due to a sharp drop in US and euro zone bond yields sparked by fears over the global economic recovery.
Investors were also eyeing the US Federal Reserve’s policy minutes later in the day for any indication on asset purchase tapering.
In equity news, shares in Redrow topped the Stoxx, up 4.86% as the housebuilder said 2022 revenues should exceed £2bn.
Shell shares rose 2.48% after it said it would boost its returns to shareholders via share buybacks or dividends.
The oil major said it would increase distributions to between 20% and 30% of cashflow from its operations thanks to a rebound in its core business and an improving outlook.
Rival BP gained 2% on the back of the news, with the sector generally also up on higher oil prices. Brent futures rose 0.8% in early trade to reach $75.14 a barrel.
German software company SAP was up 2.7% after an upgrade to “buy” from Bank of America.
