On Wednesday, major European stock indices are recovering after a sharp sell-off in the previous trading session. The indices are rising by an average of 1% on the optimism caused by strong corporate reports and a rise in oil and copper prices. Thus, the European STOXX 600 index rose by 1.3%, making up for the losses of 1.4% it had on Tuesday. The British FTSE 100 index rose today by 1.22%, the French CAC 40 was up by 1.01%, and the German DAX advanced by 1.45%.

The season of corporate reporting this week is important for the European trading. For example, the shares of the auto concern Stellantis jumped by as much as 2.8% after the company announced the growth in revenue by 14% for the first quarter

The shares of the Danish shipping company Maersk rose by 3.8% on news that the company's net income for the first quarter increased 14 times and the revenue was up by 30%. An improved forecast for the year provided by the company's economists also contributed to the rise of the stocks.

German fashion company Hugo Boss gained a notable 4.8% as the company cut its net loss between January and March in anticipation of a gradual rebound in sales.

At the same time, shares of the automotive sector were lagging behind their competitors, demonstrating an increase of only 0.3%. The sector is under pressure due to a decline in the shares of Daimler auto concern that dropped by 4.4%. A drop happened after Nissan announced that it was selling all its Daimler shares in the amount of 1.15 billion euros.

The rise in European stock indices is largely supported by higher prices of oil and copper. Thus, Brent crude is approaching $70 per barrel as markets expect the official report on crude inventories from the US Department of Energy. The European energy sector rose by 2.2%. As a result, the value of shares of such large companies as Total and BP soared by 2.4% and by 1.5% respectively. Metals and mining company Rio Tinto and mining company BHP Group in London gained 2.9% and 3.4% as well.

Market participants also focus on the macroeconomic data from the European region. According to the final assessment of Markit Economics, the composite manufacturing and services PMI of the European Union rose to 53.8 points in April, while analysts had predicted a rise to 53.7 points.

According to the survey, business activity in the EU countries accelerated noticeably in April because new restrictions did not apply to the dominant services sector.