European shares rise; DAX down as Volkswagen slumps

LONDON: European shares rose on Wednesday, although Germany's blue-chip index sharply underperformed after a scandal at carmaker Volkswagen widened.

Volkswagen fell 10 percent after it said it had understated the fuel consumption of 800,000 cars sold in Europe. Majority stakeholder Porsche was down 9.5 percent after it warned that VW's latest findings could weigh further on its results.

Germany's DAX index was down 0.2 percent, while the FTSEurofirst 300 rose 0.4 percent to 1,500.57.

Top riser was commodities firm Glencore, up 5.6 percent after saying trading was strong. It said it was on track to reduce its debt and boost liquidity thanks to asset sales, and plans to deepen copper output cuts to help lift prices.