European shares closed in the green on Wednesday, bolstered by rising oil prices as investors exercised caution ahead of a key Federal Reserve data release and Thursday's European Central Bank (ECB) meeting.
Central banks dominate sentiment
European markets
The pan-European Euro Stoxx 600 Index finished up 0.34 provisionally, helped by oil prices edging up over 2 percent as a result of the U.S. government reporting an unforeseen drop in domestic crude stockpiles. Construction and material, household goods and telecoms were the only sectors to finish in the red - each closing under pressure.
The U.K. FTSE 100 posted the biggest rise of 0.31 percent, while the French CAC 40 and German DAX recorded gains of 0.25 and 0.13 percent respectively.
Investors were also monitoring news from the Federal Reserve with the central bank scheduled to release the latest release of its so-called Beige Book at 2 p.m. ET, which summarizes economic conditions in the U.S. Further to this, the ECB is due to host its latest meeting on Thursday which proved to be a factor for investors throughout the trading day.
Travis Perkins down 4.44%
Sticking with Europe, the Anglo-Australian miner BHP Billiton reported a slide in quarterly iron ore production but said it saw the early signs of a commodity recovery. London-listed shares fell in early deals before recovering losses and posting a gain of 0.49 percent.
French retailer Carrefour reported an acceleration in sales growth and saw its shares rise sharply up by 4.7 percent.
Shares of building supplier Travis Perkins fell to 6.1 percent after it announced branch closures and warned it was set to take a hit on profits in the next calendar year. The share price did recover somewhat before posting a loss of 4.44 per cent by the close.
Credit management services company Intrum Justitia rose 6.4 percent in early deals after a string set of third-quarter results.