Europe: Adidas boost and strong miners keep European shares afloat

[LONDON] In the face of a fresh protectionist move from the US causing Asian shares to fall overnight, European stocks managed a slight gain on Wednesday thanks to strong results from Adidas and robust mining stocks.

The pan-European STOXX 600 gained 0.2 per cent, pushed higher by consumer staples and basic materials. Spain's IBEX lagged peers, down 0.5 per cent after disappointing results from Zara fashion chain owner Inditex.

German sports fashion company Adidas shone at the top of the STOXX, jumping 8.8 per cent after announcing a share buyback of up to 3 billion euros(S$4.87 billion) and lifting its 2020 profitability target.

Technology stocks were the biggest drags on the index after US President Trump threatened to impost tariffs on up to US$60 billion of Chinese imports, targeting tech and telecommunications in particular.

REUTERS