By Sara Sjolin, MarketWatch
LONDON (MarketWatch) — European stock markets extended a rally on Wednesday, a day after the region’s benchmark index scored a 4½ year record as investor appetite as the Dow Jones Industrial Average hit an all-time closing high.
The Stoxx Europe 600 index XX:SXXP +0.33% gained 0.2% to 294.60, on track for its highest level since June 2008.
Shares of Vodafone Group PLC UK:VOD +6.44% VOD +5.16% rallied 6.9% after Bloomberg News late Tuesday reported that Verizon Communications Inc. VZ +1.23% is considering several options involving its relationship with the U.K. telecom giant this year. The options range from ending the wireless venture to a full merger.
Vodafone owns a 45% stake in the Verizon Wireless subsidiary, while Verizon holds the rest. A representative from Vodafone declined to comment. See: Vodafone up 5% on report Verizon mulling options
On a more downbeat note, Edenred FR:EDEN -3.75% dropped 3.5% as Nomura cut the prepaid-services firm to reduce from neutral.
For the broader European stock market, investors shrugged off a downbeat reading on economic growth in the euro zone in the fourth quarter. The second estimate for gross domestic product for the region confirmed a 0.6% contraction for the final months of 2012, with Spain, Italy and France contributing to the decline.
Additionally, trade data for the currency bloc showed both imports and exports dropped 0.9% in the fourth quarter.
In the U.S., stocks pointed to a higher open on Wall Street, a day after the Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA +0.89% jumped 125.95 points, or 0.9% to 14,253.77, marking the highest closing level on record. See: U.S. stock rally lifts Dow to record finish and See: Stock futures higher before ADP, Beige Book.
Back in Europe, oil firms were among major advancers, even as the oil price slipped. Late on Tuesday, April oil futures CLJ3 -0.26% drifted lower on news Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez had died after fighting cancer. See: Why oil prices dipped on Chavez’s death.
Shares of Total SA FR:FP +0.42% TOT +1.64% gained 0.3% in Paris, BP PLC UK:BP +0.72% BP +0.47% added 0.4% and BG Group PLC UK:BG +0.47% rose 0.3% in London.
The CAC 40 index FR:PX1 +0.44% rose 0.2% to 3,794.35, while the U.K.’s FTSE 100 index UK:UKX +0.42% traded 0.3% higher at 6,450.96. See: Global stock markets far from Dow euphoria
On a downbeat note in London, shares of Imperial Tobacco Group PLC UK:IMT -1.76% ITYBY +0.34% lost 1.6%, on the back of an article in the Guardian saying the U.K. government will introduce plain-packaging laws for cigarette packets later this year.
Germany’s DAX 30 index DX:DAX +1.26% gained 1% to 7,949.03. Shares of Henkel AG & Co. KgaA DE:HEN3 +2.38% climbed 2.3%, as the home-chemicals maker said its 2012 targets were fully achieved, as sales rose 5.8% and adjusted operating profit improved 15.1%.
Sara Sjolin is a MarketWatch reporter based in London. Follow her on Twitter @sarasjolin.
