European stocks get tech lift, UBS climbs on naming Ermotti as new CEO

European shares rose on Wednesday, echoing an upbeat mood in Asian markets following Chinese tech giant Alibaba's break-up plans, while Swiss bank UBS climbed after it rehired Sergio Ermotti as its CEO. The benchmark STOXX 600 index rose 0.6% by 0705 GMT, in line with the gains in Asian equities.

European shares rose on Wednesday, echoing an upbeat mood in Asian markets following Chinese tech giant Alibaba's break-up plans, while Swiss bank UBS climbed after it rehired Sergio Ermotti as its CEO.

The benchmark STOXX 600 index rose 0.6% by 0705 GMT, in line with the gains in Asian equities. UBS Group AG climbed 2.2% after the Swiss bank announced Ermotti will take the helm to steer its massive takeover of smaller peer Credit Suisse. Credit Suisse climbed 2.1%, while the financial services and banking indexes were up about 1% each.

Germany's Infineon climbed 5.1% after the chipmaker raised its outlook for both its fiscal second quarter and the whole of 2023. The wider tech index climbed 1.7% to lead sectoral gains. Aroundtown fell 5.3% to a fresh record low after the German real estate company reported a full-year net loss of 457 million euros and said it was suspending dividend payout due to market uncertainties.

Mercedes-Benz slipped 1.8% after news Kuwait's sovereign wealth fund is planning to reduce its stake in the German luxury carmaker via the sale of 20 million shares.