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London - European shares climbed on Wednesday, with carmaker Peugeot among the best-performers, as some strong corporate results and further signs of bid activity lifted the region's stock markets.
The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index and the eurozone's blue-chip Euro STOXX 50 index both advanced by 0.6%.
Peugeot was among the best performers on the FTSEurofirst, rising 5% after it reported positive first-half net income for the first time in four years.
British property group Quintain Estates surged over 20% after a bid from private equity firm Lone Star, while shares in Italcementi also jumped around 50% after a bid from HeidelbergCement.
However, Schneider Electric fell 1.9% after lowering full-year forecasts due to persistent weakness in China, which is grappling with volatile stock markets and concerns over its economy.
According to Thomson Reuters StarMine data, 53% of companies on the pan-European STOXX 600 index have beaten or met market expectations with their results so far this quarter.
"The results from European companies have been reasonably reassuring so far, although China is impacting a few of them," said Mirabaud Securities' senior equity sales trader John Plassard.
