Europe: Shares climb, Glencore and Inditex outperform

[LONDON] European shares climbed on Wednesday, with miner Glencore and fashion group Inditex outperforming, as the region's stock markets were buoyed by gains overnight on US and Asian equities.

The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index advanced by 0.9 per cent while the euro zone's blue-chip Euro STOXX 50 index also rose one per cent.

Glencore rose 3.9 per cent after launching a US$2.5 billion share placement late on Tuesday, while Inditex progressed by 3 per cent after reporting higher sales.

Asian shares followed Wall Street higher on Wednesday, albeit in thin volume, and short-term US bond yields held near 4-1/2 year highs as investors braced for the possibility of the first US interest rate hike since 2006.

Although the FTSEurofirst 300 has risen some 8 percent from a low hit last month, it remains down around 12 per cent from its peak of two months ago, due to concerns about the impact to markets if the Fed does rate rates and on worries over China.

REUTERS