London, Wednesday, 6 July 2022
On Wednesday, European equity markets mainly closed higher, with the benchmark STOXX 600 and Germany's DAX both recovering by more than 1.5 percent, driven by a more than 3 percent increase in retail and technology equities.
The news that Norwegian oil and gas workers had called off their strike was well-received by investors, and encouraging factory orders statistics for Germany and industrial production for Spain also provided some help.
In contrast, the Euro Area's retail sales underperformed. Even yet, traders maintained their caution ahead of the release of the FOMC minutes, as discussions of gas rationing in Europe persist, and as a political crisis in Britain has just begun.
(Reporting by: The Decision Maker – Finance editors)