European shares rise after Powell's dovish comments; focus on elections

European shares rose on Wednesday as investors welcomed dovish comments from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell and looked ahead to the second round of the French vote and a national election in the UK.

The pan-European STOXX 600 index gained 0.3% by 0709 GMT, rising for a second of the past seven sessions.

Wall Street's benchmark S&P 500 closed above the 5,500 mark on Tuesday after Powell told a panel that recent data represented "significant progress" while adding that the Fed needed to see more before changing policy.


French stocks climbed 0.4% as opponents of France's National Rally (RN) stepped up their bid to block the far-right party from power, with more candidates agreeing to pull out of this weekend's run-off election to avoid splitting the anti-RN vote.

The UK's FTSE 100 also added 0.4% ahead of the July 4 election, which could see a possible end to 14 years of Conservative government.

Volkswagen edged up 0.4% after U.S. electric vehicle maker Rivian denied a media report about its extended partnership with the German automaker.

Bpost tumbled 10.2% after the Belgian postal operator issued a downbeat full-year earnings forecast, citing unfavourable market conditions in North America.