By Sara Sjolin, MarketWatch
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- European stock markets mirrored
overnight gains in Asia and extended the prior day's rally on
Wednesday, with investors eyeing earnings reports from major
companies such as Barclays PLC and Heineken NV.
The Stoxx Europe 600 index rose 0.2% to 293.32, after putting in
its best daily performance since last summer on Tuesday.
Barclays shares (BCS) rose 2.3%, after the bank posted a
first-quarter net profit of 839 million pounds ($1.28 billion)
compared to a loss of GBP598 million in the same quarter last
year.
Peugeot SA shares rallied 7.7%, after the car maker said it may
cut costs if the European automobile market is worse than expected
in 2014.
On a more downbeat note, Heineken lost 5.7%, after the brewer
said it sees volume pressure on all regions as it posted a group
beer volume decline of 2.7% in the first quarter.
For the broader European stock markets, investors shrugged off a
downbeat reading on German business confidence. The Ifo
business-climate index reportedly fell to 104.4 points in April
from 106.7 in March, missing expectations of a 106.2 reading.
In Asia, most markets closed higher, with Japanese stocks
climbing amid expectations of improved earnings growth.
U.S. stocks pointed to a higher open on Wall Street, putting
them on track for a fourth-straight day of gains.
Among country-specific indexes in Europe, France's CAC 40 index
rose 0.6% to 3,806.79. Shares of AXA SA climbed 2.3%, after
Citigroup added the insurance firm to its Europe focus list.
In Germany, Deutsche Post AG climbed 3.5%, after J.P. Morgan
Cazenove lifted the firm to overweight from neutral and added it to
its European analyst focus list, citing year-to-date
underperformance.
The DAX 30 index rose 0.3% to 7,681.85.
The U.K.'s FTSE 100 index gained 0.2% to 6,420.75.
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