By Simon Kennedy
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- European stock markets posted solid gains in early trading Wednesday after Japanese stocks rallied strongly, with banks, mining stocks and utilities all contributing to the gains. Among stocks in focus, shares of African Barrick Gold (UK:ABG 550.00, +20.00, +3.77%) rose 3.5% after Societe Generale initiated coverage of the stock with a buy rating, while Sonova Holding AG (CH:SOON 88.30, -5.00, -5.36%) dropped over 9% after the departure of its chief executive and chief financial officer. The Stoxx Europe 600 index (ST:STOXX600 278.53, +2.02, +0.73%) rose 0.7% to 278.52. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 index (UK:UKX 5,959, +26.84, +0.45%) rose 0.5% to 5,959.21, the French CAC 40 index (FR:PX1 4,023, +35.65, +0.89%) rose 0.9% to 4,023.34 and the German DAX 30 index (DX:DAX 7,010, +75.89, +1.09%) rose 1.1% to 7,013.37. |
