Europe: Shares up for third straight session as commodities gain

[LONDON] European shares rose in early deals on Wednesday, underpinned by a rally among commodity-related stocks as well as gains in companies such as Wire Card and Bouygues.

The STOXX 600 index climbed 0.6 per cent, on track for its third straight session of gains.

The basic resources index was the top sectoral gainer, rebounding nearly 2 per cent after a sell-off in the previous session, while oil stocks extended their rally, up 1 per cent as the price of oil firmed on hopes of an Opec output deal.

Among the top risers, German payment processor Wirecard rose 3.3 per cent after issuing guidance for 2017, while France's Bouygues also rose 3.3 per cent after maintaining its outlook following a forecast-beating rise in third quarter operating profit.

A 5.2 per cent fall in Bayer, however, weighed on Germany's DAX index, which traded flat and underperformed the broader European market.

The drugmarker fell after a placement of 4 billion euros(S$6.07 billion) of mandatory convertible notes.

REUTERS