Equities markets made significant gains in Europe on the session Wednesday.
The FTSE Eurofirst 300 added 1.96 percent to 1,554.5.
In Frankfurt the Dax was up 1.23 percent to 7,605.94, while the Paris CAC-40 gained 2.29 percent to 5,749.29 and the IBEX was 2.4 percent higher to 15,004.2 in Madrid.
Chipmakers saw gains after mobile phone manufacturer Nokia (OMX: NOK1V; NYSE: NOK; FWB: NOA3) said it would partner more closely with 4 companies to design the chips it uses in its phones.
Infineon (FWB: IFX; NYSE: IFX) added 1.7 percent to €11.29, while STMicroelectronics (Euronext: STM; NYSE: STM) was 5.7 percent higher to €12.99 on the news.
Insurers were also higher, with Allianz (FWB: ALV; NYSE: AZ) up 2.13 percent to €161.16 and Axa (Euronext: CS; NSYE: AXA) gaining 3.58 percent to €30.07.
Airlines were lower as Lufthansa (FWB: LHA) dropped 2.54 percent to €20.73 and Air France, the worst performer on the CAC-40, fell 3.36 percent to €32.22.
Car and truck makers also saw declines.
Man (FWB: EDF1) was 0.08 percent lower to €102.86, while Peugeot (Euronext: UG; OTC: PEUGY) dropped 0.92 percent to 61.43 and Volkswagen (FWB: VOW; OTC: VLKAY) was down 1 percent to €139.63 after Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) removed it from its “conviction buy” list.
The pharmaceuticals sector was mixed, with Bayer (FWB: BAY; NYSE: BAY; TYO: 48.63) adding 5.8 percent to €54.25 after Goldman Sachs reiterated the drug maker’s position on its “conviction buy” list.
Meanwhile, Schering (FWB: SCH) dropped 0.52 percent to €104.03.
Chemicals company Atlanta (FWB: ALT; NYSE: AAA) was the worst performer on the Dax as it dropped 2.98 percent to €16.31, while commercial property investment group Unibail (Euronext: UL) had the best day on the CAC-40 with a gain of 7.22 percent to €180.02.