Eurozone stocks were buoyed on Wednesday by a 750-billion-euro ($824 billion) plan to prop up EU economies hammered by the coronavirus crisis, but falls for healthcare and technology stocks weighed on broader European markets.
The euro zone equities index finished 1.1% higher after jumping as much as 1.6%, while the pan-European STOXX 600 closed up 0.2%.
Under the proposal, the European Commission would borrow the funds from the market and then disburse two-thirds in grants and the rest in loans, with much of the money going to Italy and Spain, the worst affected by the pandemic.
Spain's banking-heavy IBEX jumped 2.4%, with Banco Santander SA and BBVA rising 4.9% and 3.4% respectively.
Eurozone banks climbed 4.8%, with French lenders BNP Paribas SA and Societe Generale SA leading gains. Italy's banking index rose 2.6%.
Aside from banks, other hard-hit sectors including travel and leisure and automakers rallied.
Renault jumped 17.5% after the French carmaker and Nissan Motor Co doubled down on a plan to cooperate on production to save costs and salvage their troubled alliance.
Easing of lockdowns in several European countries and improving economic data have spurred buying in growth-exposed cyclical sectors in recent weeks, putting European stocks on course for a 2.8% gain in May. But the healthcare and technology sectors, which have been resilient during the coronavirus crisis, dropped 2.5% and 1.4% respectively.