LONDON (Reuters) - UK shares rebounded on Wednesday from three-week lows touched a day earlier, led by bank and energy stocks and also bolstered by upbeat results from Johnson Matthey that helped soothe investor concerns about slowing earnings growth.
The FTSE 100 <.FTSE> was up 0.6 percent at 1044 GMT, snapping three days of consecutive losses, with banking and energy sectors accounting for most of the gains so far. The FTSE 250 <.FTMC> was up 0.03 percent.
All major euro-zone bourses were in positive territory as Italian banks rebounded on hopes that Rome may compromise with Brussels over its budget plans, and the battered tech sector recovered after a widespread sell-off prompted by worries over iPhone demand.
Banks <.FTNMX8350> were up 1.6 percent, while oil and gas stocks rose 0.9 percent as crude prices recovered. [O/R]
Otherwise, a mix of earnings, management changes and broker recommendations were driving individual moves.
Johnson Matthey
NMC Health was buoyed by a JPMorgan upgrade.
Among the losers, Sage Group
"The implied share price hit today is probably less negative than the actual forecast cut," said Investec analysts.
"While the news today is bad, there is an element of kitchen sink with a new CEO coming in, the strategy as laid out seems reasonable enough," they said.
Kingfisher
There was plenty of action on the midcap index. Indivior
Babcock
Talktalk
(Reporting by Josephine Mason; Editing by Gareth Jones)