Europe close: Stocks stage modest rebound
Stocks recouped part of the previous day's losses amid the somewhat more optimistic sounding noises coming from global authorities on the outlook for international trade and a drop in the single currency's value.
Nevertheless, trade worries were still very much front-and-centre on investors' minds according to the results of one of the most widely-followed surveys on sentiment.
Thus, earlier in the session the president of Germany's ZEW institute, Achim Wambach, said that: "Concerns over a US-led global trade conflict have made the experts more cautious in their prognoses. The strong euro is also hampering the economic outlook for Germany, a nation reliant on exports."
However, come early evening reports were beginning to filtre in from the G-20 finance ministers' meeting in Buenos Aires, indicating that the final comunique would emphasise the need to work towards free and fair trade.
As as an aside, in an article published the day before in the FT, Wolfgang Munchau had mused aloud about the damage that simultaneous US tariffs on German car exports and the impact of Brexit might wreak on the German economy.
Nevertheless, it was the release of the ZEW institute's economic sentiment index for Germany, earlier in the day, which had weighed on the euro, in turn putting a bid into stocks.
Against that backdrop, by the closing bell the benchmark Stoxx 600 was higher by 0.51% or 1.89 points to 375.57, alongside a 0.74% or 90.31 point advance on the Dax 30 to 12,307.33 and a gain of 0.73% or 165.05 points to 22,798.15 for the FTSE Mibtel.
In parallel, euro/dollar was off by 0.63% to 1.2258.
The ZWE gauge, which summarises the views of institutional investors and analysts, fell from a reading of 17.8 for February to 5.1 in March, versus its long-term average of 23.6.
Back on the trade front, in a speech to the annual session of the Chinese parliament overnight, Chinese premier Li Keqiang said his country would open its economy further so that domestic and foreign enterprises can compete on a level playing field.
That followed reports that surfaced on Tuesday night that the US administration was planning to levy as many as $60bn-worth of tariffs on Chinese goods in retaliation for the country's shortcomings when it came to guarding intellectual property rights.
In other economic news, Germany's Finance Ministry reported that factory gate prices in the Eurozone's largest economy slipped from a 2.0% year-on-year clip in January to 1.8% for February.
On the company side of things, shares of British conveyor-belt manufacturer Fenner rocketed after it became the second company in as many days to receive a buy-out bid from a rival from over the Channel.
France's Michelin had offered roughly £1.2bn for the outfit as it moved to bulk up its mining equipment arm.
In parallel, stock in Spain's Cellnex slipped despite a report that Italy's Atlantia was looking to exercise an option to purchase a 29.9% stake in the operator, so as to avoid having to table a takeover bid for the entire company, according to Il Sole 24 Ore.