Europe ends mixed amid Italy political uncertainty
Markets in Europe closed mixed on Wednesday as investors focused on the political crisis in Italy which could lead to a new parliamentary election in the country. President Sergio Mattarella appointed Carlo Cottarelli as the head of an interim government after anti-establishment candidate Giuseppe Conte failed to form a government as a result of Mattarella blocking his economy minister pick. However, Cottarelli still hasn't presented the president with a list of ministers and anti-establishment party Northern League called for new elections "as soon as possible."
Italy's FTSE MIB recovered from losses suffered earlier in the week and ended the session 1.74% in the green. Financials recorded strong performances with Mediobanca and Finecobank rocketing 7.06% and 6.44%, respectively.
In the UK, the FTSE 100 climbed 0.75%. The index was pushed higher by oil firms as Shell and BP added over 2%. Germany's DAX jumped 0.93%. Merck and Bayer led the gains as they surged 3.94% and 3.91%, respectively. Bayer's performance was boosted by news the company agreed to sell $9 billion worth of agricultural assets in order to secure the US Department of Justice's approval of its acquisition of Monsanto.
Meanwhile, France's CAC 40 declined 0.53% as a result of sharp losses in the banking sector as BNP Paribas and Societe Generale dropped over 5%.
The euro gained 0.96% against the dollar to sell for 1.1650 at 5:43 pm CET.