European shares rise as fears of energy supply ease

European shares hovered near six-week highs on Wednesday, July 20, as concerns over energy supplies eased after a report that Russian gas supplies would resume on schedule, while markets focused on Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi’s speech to parliament amid a political crisis.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 index rose 0.4% by 07:10 GMT, extending its gains for a fourth consecutive session, after sources said on Tuesday that Russian gas flows to Europe via the Nord Stream 1 pipeline would resume on time this week after completing scheduled maintenance work.

Italian stock index rose 0.2% ahead of Draghi’s speech after markets closed, which comes after the president advised him to reconsider his resignation last week.

The biggest gainer on the European index was German electricity supplier Uniper, which rose 7.3% after a report said its rescue plan would be discussed with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Friday.