Insurers lift European shares ahead of key economic data

European shares opened higher on Wednesday, as positive results from insurer Prudential lifted the sector, while investors awaited more key data to gauge the economic health of the region.

By 0703 GMT, the pan-European STOXX 600 edged 0.1% higher after rising nearly 1% each in the previous two sessions.

European insurers added 0.7%, with Prudential climbing 2.7% after the Asia-focused insurer posted a higher first-half operating profit.


Shares of Direct Line Insurance Group rose 1% after the British motor and home insurer named Adam Winslow, a senior executive at Aviva, as its new CEO.

Heavyweight energy stocks gained 0.4%, tracking higher crude prices, while basic resources added nearly 1% in early trade.

Germany's DAX added 0.2% ahead of August inflation data due later in the day. Also on the radar would be Spain's inflation data and a euro zone consumer confidence print.

Among other individual stocks, Orsted slumped 11.8% after the world's No. 1 offshore wind farm developer said it anticipates impairments of up to 5 billion Danish crowns ($729.78 million) on its U.S. portfolio. (Reporting by Shashwat Chauhan in Bengaluru; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)