LONDON — European stock markets were on the upswing in mid-morning trading on Wednesday, with the FTSE 100 in London and the FTSE MIB in Milan leading the way.
The British and Italian markets climbed 0.6 percent each to 6991.89 and to 23,464.84, respectively, followed by the CAC 40 in Paris, up 0.4 percent to 5,104.54. The DAX in Frankfurt rose 0.1 percent to 11,637.24.
The euro traded at $1.09, while the pound fetched $1.54 and the Swiss franc equaled $1.05 at 11:00 a.m. CET.
Retail and luxury stocks were mostly up, with the exception of Asos.com, down 0.8 percent to 35.11 pounds; French Connection Group, 1.1 percent to 0.44 pounds, and Mulberry Group, 0.8 percent to 9 pounds.
Among the morning’s biggest gainers were Gemfields, which advanced 2.9 percent to 0.62 pounds; MySale Group, 1.2 percent to 0.56 pounds, and Beiersdorf AG, 0.9 percent to 82.51 euros.