European shares rose on Wednesday, led by mining stocks, although Germany's bluechip index sharply underperformed after a scandal at carmaker Volkswagen widened. Volkswagen fell 9.4 percent after it said it had understated the fuel consumption of 800,000 cars sold in Europe. Majority stakeholder Porsche was also down 8.2 percent after it warned that VW's latest findings could weigh further on its results.
The STOXX 600 Autos and Parts index was the only European sector in negative territory, with the likes of BMW, Daimler and Peugeot down 2-3 percent. "Another week, another shock in the VW story. As CO2 becomes the new focus, we cut our estimates and TP to reflect the latest admission," analysts at Exane BNP Paribas said in a note. "VW's latest admission on CO2 will have ramifications across the sector."
Germany's DAX index was down 0.1 percent, underperforming a 1 percent rise of the FTSEurofirst 300 . Germany also underperformed on the data front. PMI readings in France came in ahead of the initial "flash" numbers, while the German figures came in below expectations. "There's a bit of wariness coming through over Germany now. If you've based your thesis on the idea that Germany will outperform, suddenly the data doesn't seem to be backing that up," Chris Beauchamp, market analyst at IG said.
Basic resources stocks were up 2.4 percent, the top sectoral gainer, on firmer copper prices and comments from Chinese President Xi Jinping that were seen as supportive to the economy. Top riser was commodities firm Glencore, up 5.4 percent after saying trading was strong. It said it was on track to reduce its debt and boost liquidity thanks to asset sales, and plans to deepen copper output cuts to help lift prices.
Telefonica rose 2.5 percent after an upgrade to "buy" from UBS and as analysts expect the Spanish phone group to report on Friday its first quarterly rise in domestic revenues since 2008. British retailer Marks & Spencer gained 3.1 percent as it raised its annual forecast for margins in clothing and homeware even though quarterly sales fell in this troubled division. With 55 percent of STOXX Europe 600 companies having reported earnings so far this quarter, 49 percent have beaten or met expectations, with 51 percent missing forecasts.
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