European equities were little changed on Wednesday, holding within a narrow range for most of the session amid thin summer trading volumes, with turnover approximately 20% below the average level.
The Stoxx Europe 600 Index rose as much as 0.4% during the day but gave back those gains into the close, finishing essentially flat.
A surprise announcement from the U.S. Treasury regarding plans to increase the scale of longer-dated bond buybacks triggered a brief rally in European stocks during the session. Spot gold jumped roughly 3.5% in response to the news.
Manish Kabra, head of U.S. equity strategy and multi-asset strategist at Societe Generale, noted: "Once the market digests the news, we believe that raising the buyback cap to at least $4 billion is notable, but it is insufficient to curb the upward trend in long-term Treasury yields."
Sector-wise, basic resources posted the strongest performance, climbing more than 3%. Conversely, bank stocks were the weakest performers as bond yields retreated.
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