EUROPE MARKETS: European Stocks Rise, Lifted By Oil Firms And Burberry

U.S. Fed boss Yellen is in focus later in the day

European stocks broadly rose on Wednesday, lifted by a rally in oil stocks and with Burberry driving luxury goods stocks higher after a well-received trading update.

The Stoxx Europe 600 index rose 0.8% to 381.99, rebounding from a 0.7% loss on Tuesday.

In focus on Wednesday, U.S. Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen will testify before Congress at 3 p.m. London time, or 10 a.m. Eastern Time.

See:Republicans to press Yellen on Fed plans to reduce outsize role in economy (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/republicans-to-press-yellen-on-fed-plans-to-reduce-its-outsized-role-on-us-economy-2017-07-11)

Over the next two days, the market will be looking for answers with regards to whether there will be more Fed interest-rate hikes and when the balance-sheet reduction for the central bank will begin, said James Hughes, chief market analyst at GKFX, in a note.

"I expect that the Fed Chair will keep her hawkish tone on monetary policy and continue to push the balance sheet reduction move, but hints of a timeline are what we want to hear," he said.

Read:Is Janet Yellen still calling the tune in financial markets? (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/is-janet-yellen-still-calling-the-tune-in-financial-markets-2017-07-10)

Stock movers: In Europe, shares of Burberry Group PLC (BRBY.LN) (BRBY.LN) climbed 2% after the luxury retailer reported higher first-quarter comparable sales (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/burberrys-comparable-sales-lifted-by-china-2017-07-12-24853839) and underlying revenue.

Other luxury goods companies were also higher, with shares of LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE (LVMUY) up 0.3%, Gucci-owner Kering SA (KER.FR) 1.3% higher.

DNB ASA (DNB.OS) put on 5% after the Norwegian bank posted second-quarter earnings that easily beat forecasts.

Oil companies were also up, rising alongside higher oil prices (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/oil-extends-gains-after-upbeat-us-production-data-2017-07-12) after the American Petroleum Institute on Tuesday reported a much larger-than-expected drop (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/oil-climbs-as-sources-say-api-data-show-us-crude-supply-down-more-than-8-million-barrels-2017-07-11) of 8.1 million barrels in U.S. crude supplies. Shares of BP PLC (BP.LN) (BP.LN) rose 1.8%, Repsol (REPYY) added 1.6% and Eni SpA (ENI.MI) picked up 1.9%.

On a downbeat note, shares of Amec Foster Wheeler PLC (AMFW.LN) tanked 6.7% after the U.K. Serious Fraud Office said it opened an investigation into the project management and services firm.

Pearson PLC (PSON.LN) slid 4.9%. Shares fell 5.1% Tuesday after the education and publishing company said it wouldGBP sell its 22% stake in Penguin Random House for $1 billion to German media company Bertelsmann SE, its joint-venture partner.

Micro Focus International PLC (MCRO.LN) fell 5.9% after reporting lower revenue and profit.

Indexes: The U.K.'s FTSE 100 index jumped 0.7% to 7,379.89.

Germany's DAX 30 index rose 0.6% to 12,514.70, while France's CAC 40 climbed 0.9% to 5,184.58.

The euro was down at $1.1455 compared with $1.1468 on Tuesday. The shared currency rose against the dollar on Tuesday after Donald Trump Jr. released a series of email exchanges (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/donald-trump-jr-releases-emails-about-his-russian-lawyer-meeting-2017-07-11) about a June 2016 meeting to discuss potential incriminating information against Hillary Clinton.

Economic news: Unemployment in the U.K. fell to the lowest level since 1975 (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/uk-unemployment-rate-hits-lowest-since-1975-2017-07-12), coming in at 4.5% in the March-May period.

Real wages however, dropped by 0.5% in the three months to May, as consumer prices grew faster than salaries.

The pound erased an earlier loss and swung higher to buy $1.2868 compared with $1.2845 late Tuesday in New York.

Among eurozone data, industrial output for the area rose 1.3% in May, the fastest annual pace in more than five years (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/eurozone-industrial-output-picks-up-speed-2017-07-12-74853116).

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

July 12, 2017 08:03 ET (12:03 GMT)