European shares rise as banks, clean energy stocks rally; Novo Nordisk jumps

European shares advanced on Wednesday, with banking and clean energy stocks leading gains after Democrats secured control of both chambers of the US Congress, while Novo Nordisk rallied after raising its full-year forecasts, Reuters reported.

The pan-European STOXX 600 index rose 0.5% to 0816 GMT. Germany's DAX and France's CAC 40 also traded higher, while Italy's FTSE MIB outperformed regional peers with a 1.2% gain.

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Banking stocks were among the top performers, climbing more than 2% as investors shifted towards domestically focused lenders that have underperformed the broader market for much of the year.

European stock futures had fallen as much as 1.4% earlier in the session before recovering following the Democrats' victory in both the US Senate and House of Representatives. Investor sentiment also improved after US President Donald Trump accepted the election results, Reuters reported.

Clean energy stocks, which have faced pressure from Trump's policy agenda, led sectoral gains. Wind turbine makers Vestas and Nordex rose 5% and 4.7%, respectively, while Orsted advanced 7%.

Novo Nordisk shares gained 4.6% after the Wegovy maker reported third-quarter adjusted operating profit above market expectations and raised its full-year sales and profit forecasts, boosting investor confidence in its business outlook.

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Technology stocks also recovered from early losses to trade 0.4% higher. Strong forecasts from US chipmaker Advanced Micro Devices helped offset concerns that tighter Democratic oversight could prompt artificial intelligence companies to adopt a more cautious approach to technology spending, Reuters reported.

Among individual stocks, Infineon and ASML gained more than 1.1% each. AI infrastructure and equipment companies Siemens Energy and Schneider Electric also traded marginally higher.

The recovery in European equities reflected improving investor sentiment following the US election outcome, with banking and renewable energy stocks benefiting from expectations surrounding the potential implications of the changed political balance in Washington.

(Disclaimer: This article is based on inputs from agencies. These do not represent the views of The Economic Times)