European Stocks Close Higher On Optimism About U.S. - EU Trade Talks

European stocks closed higher on Wednesday amid slightly easing concerns about a trade war after EU trade chief said talks with the U.S. were advancing in the right direction.

US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and EU Trade Commissioner Maros Sefcovic's meeting following President Donald Trump's steel and aluminum tariff hike, is reportedly showing signs of constructive progress.

Investors also digested regional economic data and some corporate earnings updates, and looked ahead to the European Central Bank's monetary policy announcement on Thursday.

The ECB is widely expected to reduce interest rate by 25 basis points.

The pan European Stoxx 600 climbed 0.51%. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 gained 0.19%, Germany's DAX ended 0.71% up, and France's CAC 40 advanced 0.58%. Switzerland's SMI closed 0.48% up.

Among other markets in Europe, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Iceland, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Russia, Sweden and Turkiye closed higher.

Austria, Czech Republic, Ireland, Portugal and Spain ended weak.

In the German market, Infineon Technologies rallied nearly 4.5%. Deutsche Post gained about 2.3%. Symrise, Beiersdorf, Siemens, Brenntag, Qiagen, E.ON, Bayer, Heidelberg Materials, Merck and Henkel gained 1 to 2%.