European Markets Finished Mostly Higher After Yesterday's Sell-Off

(RTTNews) - The majority of the European markets ended Wednesday's session to the upside, following the sharp declines of the previous session. Concerns over China dominated the headlines yesterday, after the nation's manufacturing data came in weaker than expected.

Gains in Europe began to erode in late trade, due to weakness in energy stocks. Crude oil prices accelerated to the downside after a U.S. government report showed that U.S. crude oil inventories increased by much more than expected.

Early gains were fueled by bargain hunting, following Tuesday's sharp sell-off. U.S. private sector employment data was also viewed positively ahead of Friday's jobs report. Investors will now shift their focus to tomorrow's meeting of the European Central Bank.

The Euro Stoxx 50 index of eurozone bluechip stocks increased by 0.32 percent, while the Stoxx Europe 50 index, which includes some major U.K. companies, added 0.38 percent.

The DAX of Germany climbed by 0.32 percent and the CAC 40 of France rose by 0.30 percent. The FTSE of the U.K. gained 0.41 percent and the SMI of Switzerland finished higher by 0.06 percent.

In Frankfurt, Commercial vehicles maker MAN SE finished up by 0.47 percent. The company said its board decided to apply for cancellation of the listing of the shares in the Prime Standard and transfer to a General Standard listing.

RWE declined by 1.18 percent and E.ON lost 0.87 percent.

In Paris, Alstom gained 2.26 percent on reports that General Electric Co. is poised to win approval in Europe for its purchase of the speed-train maker's energy business shortly.

Vivendi rose by 0.25 percent. The media company reportedly increased its stake in French video platform Dailymotion, now controlling 90 percent of its holding.

In London, Ashtead Group surged by 7.74 percent, after reporting first-quarter results.

Ryanair climbed by 3.30 percent, after reporting growth in traffic and load factor for August.

Glencore sank by 8.01 percent after the company has opted to pay back $350 million in bonds next month.

ARM Holdings finished higher by 0.88 percent. JPMorgan upgraded its rating on the stock to "Neutral" from "Underweight."

Merlin Entertainments rose by 1.30 percent, after UBS upgraded its rating to "Buy" from "Neutral."

Hikma Pharmaceuticals gained 4.36 percent, after Barclays increased its price target on the stock.

Telefonica dropped by 2.37 percent in Madrid. RBC Capital downgraded its rating on the stock to "Underperform" from "Outperform."

Eurozone's producer prices declined at a stable rate in July, in line with expectations, figures from Eurostat showed Wednesday. The producer price index fell 2.1 percent year-over-year in July, the same rate of decrease as in the previous month, revised down from the 2.2 percent drop reported earlier.

British construction sector sustained its robust growth in August, albeit at a slower pace, with continued boost from the housing sector and new impetus from the commercial sector. The seasonally adjusted Markit/CIPS UK Construction Purchasing Managers' Index rose to 57.3 from 57.1 in July, survey results from the Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply and Markit Economics revealed Wednesday. Economists had forecast a higher score of 57.5.

Employment in the U.S. private sector saw a notable increase in the month of August, according to a report released by payroll processor ADP on Wednesday, although the pace of job growth fell short of economist estimates.

ADP said private sector employment climbed by 190,000 jobs in August following a downwardly revised increase of 177,000 jobs in July. Economists had expected employment to jump by about 210,000 jobs compared to the increase of 185,000 jobs originally reported for the previous month.

Labor productivity in the U.S. jumped by much more than previously estimated in the second quarter, the Labor Department revealed in a report on Wednesday.

The report said labor productivity surged up by 3.3 percent in the second quarter, reflecting a notable upward revision from the previously reported 1.3 percent growth. Economists had expected the pace of growth to be upwardly revised to 2.8 percent.