European stocks closed higher Wednesday, as markets worldwide attempted to shake off the major volatility seen in recent sessions. The pan-European Stoxx 600 closed at 2.06 percent, with all sectors and major bourses in positive territory. Oil and gas stocks were among the top performers, up more than 2.43 percent amid corporate earnings news. Statoil announced stronger-than-anticipated fourth-quarter results, marking the latest oil company to benefit from a rapidly improving environment for big energy firms. Statoil's shares closed up 4.61 percent. Swedish industrial technology firm Hexagon closed top of the European benchmark. The company said like-for-like sales in the final three months of 2017 had increased sharply from the previous quarter. Its shares were up 10.04 percent on the news. Meanwhile, Danish enzymes maker Novozymes closed near the bottom of the index after it reported weaker-than-expected earnings results. The firm cited challenging conditions in agriculture markets as it missed analyst projections for fourth-quarter results. Its shares were down 4.28 percent. Carlsberg shares were sharply lower, closing down 3.61 percent, after the Danish brewer after beer volumes fell in its key market of Russia. By late morning in the U.S. markets, stocks had risen in choppy trade as Wall Street tried to build on the strong gains set in the previous session. The Dow Jones industrial average climbed 300 points after opening 127 points lower. Boeing and Walmart were the best-performing stocks in the index, rising more than 3 percent. The S&P 500 rose 1.2 percent, with telecommunications and industrials as the best-performing sector. The Nasdaq composite traded 0.8 percent higher. Futures fell sharply before the open, with the Dow tipped to open 300 points lower at one point. Source: CNBC
