(Reuters) -European shares inched higher on Wednesday with banks and energy stocks leading early gains, though gains were kept in check by losses in automobile stocks following BMW’s forecast cut and technology names amid U.S. calls for export bans.
The pan-European STOXX 600 was up 0.2% at 570.4 points by 0712 GMT. Local bourses were mixed, though the Italian benchmark outperformed with a 0.5% gain.
Banks were the biggest boost, up 0.7% with British lender Lloyds, France’s Societe Generale and Italy’s BPER Banca leading gains.
Heavyweight oil and gas stocks added 0.4%, tracking higher oil prices.
Germany’s BMW dropped 5.3% after the carmaker cut its 2025 earnings forecast due to changed U.S. tariff assumptions and weaker-than-expected growth in the Chinese market.
The broader autos index eased 1.5%, with rival Mercedes also down 3.1%.
Technology fell 1.1%, with chip-related companies ASML and ASMI leading declines after U.S. lawmakers called for broader bans on sales of chipmaking equipment to China.
Investors will also focus on France, where President Emmanuel Macron is under mounting pressure to either resign or call a snap parliamentary election amid deepening political turmoil. French blue-chips gained 0.2% early on.
(Reporting by Shashwat Chauhan in Bengaluru and Amir Orusov in Gdansk; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty)
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