LONDON — European stock markets were on the upswing in mid-morning trading on Wednesday.
The FTSE MIB in Milan climbed 1.5 percent to 16,520.68, followed by the CAC 40 in Paris, 1.2 percent to 4,181.36. The FTSE 100 in London was up 0.9 percent to 4,181.36 and the DAX in Frankfurt 0.8 percent to 9,593.81.
The euro traded at $1.00, while the pound fetched $1.25 and the Swiss franc equaled $0.92 at 10:30 a.m. CET.
Retail and luxury stocks were largely up, with the morning’s biggest gainers including Jimmy Choo, 14.1 percent to 1.10 pounds. The luxury footwear brand released a trading update and said the company is on schedule to deliver an improvement in margins this year.
Chairman Peter Harf noted “growth remains on track, including in Asia. Brand awareness continues to grow strongly and particularly in China where the brand remains under-penetrated.”
Boohoo.com rose 6.5 percent to 0.55 pounds. Barclays Capital today reaffirmed its overweight investment rating on the company and raised its price target to 60 pence from 57 pence. In a report issued last week, the high-street label reported growth in recent quarters, bouncing back from a profit warning in January.
Tesco was up 3.6 percent to 1.52 pounds. The company announced a partnership with MasterCard to develop its digital payments offering.
Among the few stocks that lost ground were Koovs.com, 2.7 percent to 0.53 pounds; French Connection, 1.1 percent to 0.38 pounds; and Mysale, 0.7 percent to 0.66 pounds.