Europe equity indexes close higher, led by technology stocks

The pan-European STOXX 600 index gained 1.06% to 574.01 points at the close, extending its winning streak to a third straight session

Europe’s main equity indexes closed higher on Wednesday, led by technology stocks, while financials also found support following the UK budget announcement.

The pan-European STOXX 600 index gained 1.06% to 574.01 points at the close, extending its winning streak to a third straight session.

Major regional indexes also firmed, with Germany and France up about 1% and 0.9%, respectively.

Technology shares were the biggest boost to the benchmark index, up 2.1%, tracking upbeat global sentiment.

Chip equipment maker ASML climbed 5.7%, BESI 4%, and chipmaker Infineon gained 3.7%.

The STOXX 600, which saw its steepest weekly decline in more than three months on Friday, is expected to put up a strong performance in 2026.

In the UK, British finance minister Rachel Reeves announced a big tax-raising budget that will take more money from workers but kept banks exempted from new targeted taxes.

London’s FTSE 100 rose 0.85%, boosted by shares in British banks. Lloyds Banking Group climbed 3.4%, NatWest added 2.2% and HSBC gained 1.3%.

The pan-European banking index climbed 1.6%, rising in conjunction with British peers. The bank-heavy Spanish benchmark index was up 1.4%, outperforming its regional peers.

We’re continuing to see the Federal Reserve easing expectations drive risk appetite at the margin, and that’s leading to this broad-based advance, not only in the U.S., but certainly looking at European markets today, said Laura Cooper, head of macro credit at Nuveen.

Bloomberg News reported, citing people familiar with the matter, that White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett, who has called for lower interest rates, was widely viewed as the leading contender for the post of central bank chair.