European Markets Finish Higher On Wednesday

(RTTNews) - The major European markets opened higher on Wednesday and remained in the green throughout the trading day, extending gains from the previous session.

Stronger commodity prices on the back of a weaker dollar boosted mining and energy stocks, while financials also provided support.

The markets also got a boost from U.S. inflation data for March, which showed that prices rose less than expected.

The DAX in Germany climbed 48.43 points or 0.31 percent to finish at 15,703.60, while London's FTSE rose 39.12 points or 0.50 percent to close at 7,824.84 and the CAC 40 in France improved 6.66 points or 0.09 percent to end at 7,396.94.

In Germany, Merck plummeted 7.39 percent, while Daimler Truck Holding surged 3.83 percent, Vonovia spiked 1.71 percent, Heidelberg Cement jumped 1.05 percent, Siemens Energy climbed 0.85 percent, Infineon advanced 0.67 percent, Deutsche Borse added 0.55 percent, Deutsche Bank collected 0.32 percent and Deutsche Telekom gained 0.09 percent.

In London, Ashtead Group accelerated 2.48 percent, while Rightmove jumped 1.24 percent, BAR Systems rallied 1.23 percent, Scottish Mortgage Investment dropped 1.21 percent, Rentokil improved 1.15 percent, Prudential and RS Group both gathered 0.92 percent, Shell gained 0.62 percent, Haleon sank 0.27 percent and Vodafone fell 0.10 percent.

In France, Atos retreated 2.14 percent, while Vivendi strengthened 1.42 percent, Schneider Electric advanced 0.83 percent, Sodexo sank 0.66 percent, Societe Generale improved 0.44 percent, Credit Agricole gained 0.43 percent, Engie and Thales both rose 0.39 percent, BNP Paribas and Carrefour both added 0.26 percent and Orange eased 0.05 percent.

In economic news, the Mainland Norwegian economy contracted unexpectedly in February due to a decline in construction as well as support activities for petroleum and natural gas extraction, Statistics Norway reported Wednesday.

Hungary's consumer price inflation moderated marginally for the second straight month in March, though it remained strong overall, data from the Hungarian Central Statistical Office showed on Wednesday.