European shares finished near two-week highs on Wednesday, aided by defence and technology stocks, as investors awaited a critical earnings report from U.S. chip giant Nvidia.
The pan-European STOXX 600 ended 1.5% higher at 620.29 points. Germany and France indexes both rose over 1.4%.
Global investors are keen on AI bellwether Nvidia’s results, expected after U.S. markets close, offering clues on AI infrastructure demand.
Reuters reported that ASML expects the booming global semiconductor market to be 'tense' with tight supply. The chip-machine giant's shares rose 6.7%.
European technology stocks jumped 2.9%. Semiconductor shares such as ASM International and STMicroelectronics rose 3.9% and 6%, respectively.
Defence shares jumped 3.2%, leading sector gains. Czech firm CSG added 8.7% after first-quarter results.
Retailer Marks & Spencer jumped 6.6% after forecasting profit growth despite a slide in annual profit due to a cyber hack.
Orkla slumped almost 6% after posting a profit decline warning on increasing expenses amid the Middle East conflict.
