2017.07.0520:41:00UTC+00European Markets Climb as Retailers Soar

European stocks advanced for the second time in three days as a rally in financial service firms and retailers counterbalanced drops in oil and gas companies.

The Stoxx Europe 600 Index closed 0.2 percent higher. It slipped 0.3 percent in muted trading on Tuesday, extending declines in the final minutes before closing.

Retailers bounced 0.9 percent and financial services firms reported their largest gain in nearly three weeks. Energy shares dropped the most in the index while oil fell for the first time in nine days.

Investors were focused on the minutes from the Federal Reserve meeting. According to Fed fund futures, traders are implying at least seven odds of a rate hike in December.

Among shares active on corporate new, Persimmon rose 2.4 percent as the company expects its first-half operating margin to “comfortably exceed” that of the preceding six months.

Drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline fell 0.2 percent after a downgrade to neutral from buy at Citigroup. Novartis dropped 0.3 percent after it was downgraded to underperform from neutral at Credit Suisse.

Electricite de France tumbled 1.3 percent after HSBC Holdings slashed its ratings, saying recent gains have gone too far. Enagas fell 0.8 percent after Deutsche Bank trimmed its rating to hold from buy.