Stock closed mixed in the absence of any major economic reports from the Eurozone. A fall in shares of the financial sector weighed on stock markets, while higher oil prices supported stocks. Oil prices rose on the U.S. crude inventories data.
Market participants eyed the Chinese trade data. The Chinese Customs Office released its trade data on Wednesday. China's trade surplus climbed to $49.9 billion in May from $45.56 billion in April, missing expectations for a rise to a surplus of $58.00 billion. Exports fell at an annual rate of 4.1% in May, while imports declined at an annual rate of 0.4%.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) released its manufacturing and industrial production figures for the U.K. on Wednesday. Industrial production in the U.K. rose 2.0% in April, exceeding forecasts of a flat reading, after a 0.3% rise in March.
The increase was mainly driven by a rise in manufacturing.
On a yearly basis, industrial production in the U.K. increased 1.6% in April, beating expectations for a 0.4% drop, after a 0.2% decrease in March.
Manufacturing production in the U.K. was up 2.3% in April, beating expectations for a flat reading, after a 0.1% rise in March. It was the largest rise since July 2012.
The rise was mainly driven by an increase in the manufacture of basic pharmaceutical products and pharmaceutical preparations, which rose by 8.6% in April.
On a yearly basis, manufacturing production in the U.K. increased 0.8% in April, after a 1.9% drop in March.
Indexes on the close:
Name Price Change Change %
FTSE 100 6,301.52 +16.99 +0.27 %
DAX 10,217.03 -70.65 -0.69 %
CAC 40 4,448.73 -27.13 -0.61 %