LONDON — European stock markets were on the uptick in midmorning trading on Wednesday, with the FTSE MIB in Milan rocketing 4.3 percent to 16,599.47.
The CAC 40 in Paris was up 1.8 percent to 4,069.88, followed by the DAX in Frankfurt, 1.7 percent to 9026.07 and the FTSE 100 in London, 0.9 percent to 5,685.02.
The euro traded at $1.12, while the pound fetched $1.44, and the Swiss franc equaled $1.02 at 10:55 a.m. CET.
Later today Janet Yellen, chair of the U.S. Federal Reserve, is due to address Congress about the Fed’s policy on interest rates — and her plans for future increases — in the semiannual address to lawmakers.
The Fed raised rates late last year, yet international financial markets are volatile, oil prices remain low and growth is still sluggish in the world’s biggest economies.
Retail and luxury stocks rose along with the markets, with the morning’s biggest gainers including Yoox Net-a-porter Group, 6 percent to 25.68 euros; Zalando, 5.1 percent to 26.62 euros; Tesco, 3.7 percent to 1.80 pounds; Geox, 3 percent to 2.92 euros, and Luxottica Group, 2.9 percent to 51 euros.