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Investing.com – U.K. stocks were lower after the close on Wednesday, as losses in the Fixed Line Telecommunications, Banking and Insurance sectors led shares lower.

At the close in London, the Investing.com United Kingdom 100 lost 0.14%.

The best performers of the session on the Investing.com United Kingdom 100 were Glencore PLC (LON:GLEN), which rose 6.31% or 22.75 points to trade at 383.10 at the close. Meanwhile, Antofagasta PLC (LON:ANTO) added 4.91% or 136.00 points to end at 2,907.00 and Anglo American PLC (LON:AAL) was up 2.49% or 71.00 points to 2,927.00 in late trade.

The worst performers of the session were J Sainsbury PLC (LON:SBRY), which fell 4.17% or 13.60 points to trade at 312.40 at the close. Frasers Group PLC (LON:FRAS) declined 3.66% or 27.50 points to end at 723.50 and NatWest Group PLC (LON:NWG) was down 2.84% or 18.20 points to 622.00.

Rising stocks outnumbered declining ones on the London Stock Exchange by 889 to 856 and 572 ended unchanged.

Shares in Antofagasta PLC (LON:ANTO) rose to all time highs; gaining 4.91% or 136.00 to 2,907.00.

Gold Futures for February delivery was up 0.44% or 18.50 to $4,239.30 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in January rose 0.82% or 0.48 to hit $59.12 a barrel, while the February Brent oil contract rose 0.58% or 0.36 to trade at $62.81 a barrel.

GBP/USD was up 0.87% to 1.33, while EUR/GBP unchanged 0.53% to 0.87.

The US Dollar Index Futures was down 0.40% at 98.90.

Investing.com – Portugal stocks were higher after the close on Wednesday, as gains in the Technology, Basic Materials and Consumer Goods sectors led shares higher.

At the close in Lisbon, the PSI added 0.12%.

The best performers of the session on the PSI were Semapa (ELI:SEM), which rose 1.44% or 0.24 points to trade at 16.90 at the close. Meanwhile, Galp Energia Nom (ELI:GALP) added 1.23% or 0.22 points to end at 17.63 and Ibersol SGPS (ELI:IBS) was up 1.11% or 0.11 points to 10.05 in late trade.

The worst performers of the session were CTT Correios de Portugal SA (ELI:CTT), which fell 0.97% or 0.07 points to trade at 7.18 at the close. EDP Energias de Portugal SA (ELI:EDP) declined 0.82% or 0.03 points to end at 3.85 and Jeronimo Martins SGPS SA (ELI:JMT) was down 0.59% or 0.12 points to 20.36.

Rising stocks outnumbered declining ones on the Lisbon Stock Exchange by 16 to 11 and 5 ended unchanged.

Brent oil for February delivery was up 0.56% or 0.35 to $62.80 a barrel. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in January rose 0.78% or 0.46 to hit $59.10 a barrel, while the February Gold Futures contract rose 0.45% or 19.00 to trade at $4,239.80 a troy ounce.

EUR/USD was unchanged 0.28% to 1.17, while EUR/GBP unchanged 0.56% to 0.87.

The US Dollar Index Futures was down 0.39% at 98.91.

Investing.com - European stocks were mixed on Wednesday, as investors digested regional activity data and reacted to a speech by European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde.

The DAX index in Germany fell 0.1% and the CAC 40 in France gained 0.2%, while the FTSE 100 in the U.K. declined 0.1%. 

Positive tone overnight  

European equities had received a mostly positive handover from Asian stock markets as investors weighed rising expectations of a U.S. Federal Reserve rate cut next week.

Wall Street indexes also ended modestly higher overnight, with the tech sector leading the gains.

December has historically been a good month for equity markets, and more gains are likely as investors look ahead to a U.S. Federal Reserve meeting next week, where a 25-basis-point cut is now 85% priced in.

ECB President set to speak  

Back in Europe, ECB President Christine Lagarde gave a speech stating that eurozone inflation is expected to remain around the ECB’s 2% target in the coming months.

Speaking to the European Parliament, Lagarde noted that underlying price growth also remained "consistent" with the central bank’s medium-term inflation goal.

Eurozone inflation accelerated to 2.2% last month from 2.1% in October, a small rise that is unlikely to be too concerning given it remains near the central bank’s 2% target.

"We have practically achieved (our goal), and the inflation rate will continue to fluctuate around this value in the near future," ECB policymaker Joachim Nagel, who heads the Bundesbank, told German magazine Stern on Tuesday.

Inditex reports jump in revenue

In the European corporate sector, Inditex (BME:ITX), the world’s largest listed clothing retailer, reported a rise in revenue of 10.6% in the four weeks to December 1, highlighting its resilience in the face of weakening consumer sentiment that is hitting most fashion retailers.

German fashion group Hugo Boss (ETR:BOSSn) said that it aims to achieve an operating profit margin of around 12% over the medium-to-long term as part of a strategic overhaul.

Airbus (EPA:AIR) lowered its commercial aircraft delivery target to around 790 aircraft for 2025, citing a supplier quality issue on fuselage panels impacting its A320 line.

Crude prices edge higher

Oil prices edged higher on Wednesday as an immediate deal to end the war in Ukraine looks unlikely, keeping in play for now a persistent threat to supply.

Brent futures climbed 0.5% to $62.75 a barrel, and U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures rose 0.7% to $59.06 a barrel.

Russia and the U.S. did not come to an agreement on a possible peace deal for Ukraine after a lengthy meeting between Russia President Vladimir Putin and U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner late Tuesday.

Oil markets are awaiting the outcome of the talks to see if a deal could lead to the removal of sanctions on Russian companies that would free up restricted oil supply.

Rising U.S. inventories also added to the concerns about a crude surplus, after the American Petroleum Institute reported on Tuesday that crude stocks rose by 2.48 million barrels in the week ended November 28.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration will release official government stockpile data later on Wednesday.