By Sara Sjolin, MarketWatch
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- European stock markets rose on
Wednesday, partly recovering from the prior day's sharp losses and
with investors looking ahead to industrial-production data for the
euro zone.
Also of interest in the region, Germany's constitutional court
continued its two-day hearing on the legality of the European
Central Bank's bond-buying program, the Outright Monetary
Transactions, or OMT program.
The Stoxx Europe 600 index added 0.3% to 292.50 after sliding
1.2% on Tuesday.
Shares of Kabel Deutschland Holding AG rallied 7.1% after
Vodafone Group PLC (VOD) confirmed it has made a preliminary
approach about making an offer for the German TV and Internet
provider. Shares of Vodafone dropped 1.7%.
Volkswagen AG gave up 2.2% after the car maker recalled almost
26,000 vehicles in Australia due to faulty gearboxes.
Later in the day attention turns to industrial-production data
from the euro zone, expected to show a mild improvement in
April.
In Germany, the final day of a two-day hearing about the ECB's
unlimited bond-buying program got under way. Executive board member
of the ECB Joerg Asmussen said at the hearing on Tuesday he was
"firmly convinced that introducing the OMT program was the right
thing to do to ensure price stability in the euro area. After all,
a currency can only be stable if its continued existence is not in
doubt."
Meanwhile, Bundesbank President Jens Weidmann said unlimited
bond purchases would infringe the ECB's mandate. The Bundesbank has
earlier criticized the OMT program for creating moral hazard and
taking pressure off errant governments. Read: Just say no to ECB
bond-buying: Buba chief
Among notable movers on Wednesday, shares of HeidelbergCement AG
lost 3.3% in Frankfurt after Morgan Stanley cut the firm to equal
weight from overweight.
The DAX 30 index was flat around 8,222.72.
France's CAC 40 index rose 0.3% to 3,820.65, with shares of oil
giant Total SA (TOT) up 0.6%.
The U.K.'s FTSE 100 index was slightly higher at 6,341.02.
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