Major Europan stock markets closed mostly higher on Wednesday as investors were looking at another round of major corporate earnings reports. Commerzbank reported a better-than-expected 21% fall in net profit to €220 million while Allianz said the second half of the year will be stronger. On the data front, it was reported that Euro area retail sales increased by 5.7% in June and that Eurozone services PMI rose to 54.7 in July.

The DAX went up by 0.43% at the close as Heidelbergcement AG grew by 3.76%. The FTSE 100 rose up by 1.07% with International Consolidated Airlines Group jumping 9.83%. The CAC 40 gained 0.75%. ArcelorMittal SA was the best performer increasing by 5.37%.

The euro grew 0.84% to the dollar to sell for $1.19045 at 5:28 pm CET. At the same time, the pound sterling went up by 0.58% to the greenback, with the exchange rate of 1.31479.