By Carla Mozee, MarketWatch
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- Stocks in Europe pulled out a win
Wednesday, aided by gains for energy shares ahead of a U.S. Federal
Reserve statement that may signal policy makers will soon begin
raising interest rates.
The Stoxx Europe 600 rose 0.3% to 398.58, topped by more than 1%
rise for oil and gas group .
Support for the pan-European index came in part from U.K.
stocks, which surged following a budget outline by the U.K.'s
coalition government. Energy shares climbed after Chancellor of the
Exchequer George Osborne discussed investment and tax cuts for the
North Sea oil industry, which has been hurt by the slide in oil
prices. British oil majors Royal Dutch Shell PLC (RDSB) and BP PLC
(BP) each bounced up 2.4%, and BG Group PLC turned higher by
1%.
The U.K.'s FTSE 100
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/ftse-100-higher-ahead-of-jobless-data-budget-2015-03-18)
ended up 1.6% at 6,945.20.
But Germany's DAX 30 remained in the red, falling 0.5% to
11,922.77, giving back a portion of recent gains that have left the
benchmark up 21% this year. France's CAC 40 edged up 5,033.42.
European stocks were lower for much of the session as investors
prepared to watch what the Federal Reserve and Chairwoman Janet
Yellen will say about the future of interest rates
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/welcome-to-a-fed-without-patience-2015-03-13)
for the world's largest economy. Almost all Fed watchers think the
statement, due after European trading closed, will lay the
groundwork for a rate hike, likely in June or September.
A move by the Fed "does have an impact on the global economy,
global liquidity, and this unease in the markets around that first
interest rate hike transfers to European equities as well," said
Craig Erlam, "It makes investors a little more risk-averse...and
what Janet Yellen says this evening can change everything" and
"encourage people to move to the sidelines and wait for this to
play out."
A dovish tone in minutes from the Bank of England's March
meeting released Wednesday, along with weaker-than-expected wage
growth, prompted investors to push the pound (GBPUSD) to levels not
seen since mid-2010 against the dollar, below $1.47.
Among Stoxx 600 movers, SBM Offshore NV jumped to the top of the
Stoxx 600, rising 8.5% after the Dutch oil services company said it
will work with Brazilian officials as part of their investigation
into a bribery scandal involving Brazilian state-run oil giant
Petrobras .
Shares of Standard Chartered PLC jumped 8.1% after a ratings
upgrade at Barclays to overweight from equal weight.
European stocks, which have recently been hitting numerous
records and multiyear highs, still have room to rise, said Erlam.
The European Central Bank "has only just begun its
quantitative-easing package that's pumping 60 billion euros of
liquidity in the financial system every single month," he said.
"If we do start to see this pickup in [economic] growth over the
next 12 to 18 months...and if company performances start to improve
than that again makes the yields on offer [from equities] more
attractive," he added.
The pan-European index is up 16% so far this year.
Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires