European shares ended higher on Wednesday, with gains in commodity stocks buoying up the index and technology firms lifted by strong results from US computer maker Dell. The session proved choppy, however, unsettled by worries over the eurozone's debt problems after the IMF warned Greece that it needed to accelerate reforms and eurozone officials dismissed suggestions of a modest debt restructuring for the country.
The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index of top shares closed up 0.4 percent at 1,130.89 points in limited volume that was just 79.8 percent of its 90-day average, while Greek shares fell to close at 1.4 percent. The European market got an afternoon rally after Wall Street rose, following computer maker Dell's results, helping to improve sentiment for European technology stocks such as chip makers.
The STOXX Europe 600 Technology index gained 0.8 percent, with chip maker ARM up 3.7 percent. Standard Life said "in the medium to longer term, we are underweight European equities", due to the eurozone peripheral debt concerns. The market also remained nervous about the Federal Reserve QE2 stimulus programme, which is expected to come to an end in June, and investors will eye the release of the Federal Open Market Committee minutes of its April 26-27 meeting at 2 p.m. (1800 GMT) for any clues.
On the upside, miners and oil and gas stocks supported the market in response to a rebound in metal and oil prices. BG Group was up 3.1 percent, and BP up 1.4 percent. The STOXX Europe 600 Basic Resources index was up 0.7 percent, with Eurasian Natural Resources, Kazakhmys and Anglo American gaining 2.1 to 4.3 percent. The stock featured as top performer on the German DAX, which was up 0.7 percent. The French CAC index gained 0.9 percent.
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