European shares rise on Wednesday

European stocks ended the session higher on Wednesday, up for a second day. Xtrata’s bid for Lonmin triggered a rally in mining shares. Lonmin jumped 48%. Forecast-beating results from BNP Paribas and Commerzbank helped the financial sector and there was not too much of a negative reaction to a wider-than-expected quarterly loss by Freddie Mac, the second largest US mortgage lender. The price of Brent crude slipped as low as $116 a barrel after US government data showed bigger-than-expected increases in crude and distillate stocks there last week.

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