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European markets were trading in the black on Wednesday, yet the modest rebound was not enough to offset the previous session's losses as elevated fears of a full-blown Sino-U.S. trade war linger.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 was up 0.65 percent during early afternoon deals, with the majority of sectors and major bourses in positive territory.
Following Tuesday's sharp losses in the mining sector, basic resources bounced back on Wednesday, with the sector up almost 2 percent — providing a lift to the FTSE 100. Europe's banking and health care stocks were also among those leading the gains, on the back of corporate news.
In the banking space, the CEO of Banco BPM said that the lender was ready to sell its debt collection business, if potential buyers are willing to take on the majority of its bad loans. Shares of the Italian lender rose over 3 percent. A slew of other Italian banks joined Banco BPM up at the top of the sector, including Unicredit and Intesa Sanpaolo.
The STOXX 600's top gainer was hospital device provider Ambu, up 9.33 percent. Meanwhile shares of Colruyt surged 7 percent higher after the company reported stronger-than-anticipated yearly figures. The Brussels-listed stock was also boosted by news that Barclays had revised its target price of the firm higher.
Britain's Ocado also got a boost after Peel Hunt hiked its price target on the retailer.
Elsewhere, Britain's Berkeley was the STOXX 600's biggest loser, down over 5 percent after it reported full-year earnings results. Remy Cointreau was down over 2 percent, after Societe Generale cut its rating on the stock to "sell" from "hold".
Another topic keeping investors busy concerns oil. In Europe, OPEC ministers were seen gathering in Vienna ahead of a key summit to decide oil production policy on Friday. Oil prices posted minor gains on Wednesday, but the sector came under slight pressure.
Trade tensionsTrade tensions between the U.S. and China showed little sign of abating Wednesday, after White House trade adviser Peter Navarro warned that Beijing had underestimated President Donald Trump's resolve to impose further tariffs.
The Trump administration threatened to impose a 10 percent charge on $200 billion of Chinese goods Monday after Beijing opted to raise tariffs on $50 billion in U.S. goods. The Chinese Commerce Ministry responded following Trump's statement on Monday, saying it was prepared to take counter measures if the U.S. inflicted additional tariffs.
In Asia, Greater China markets recovered somewhat on Wednesday, after a negative session seen across the region on Tuesday. Meanwhile, U.S. futures indicated a positive open, after the Dow tanked almost 300 points in the previous session.
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