Doha: European stocks rose on Wednesday, supported by the banking and energy sectors, which led gains in early trading, but the gains remained limited as the auto sector weakened following a downgrade of BMW's outlook and technology stocks slid amid US calls for export bans. The pan-European STOXX 600 index climbed 0.2 percent to 570.4 points. Performance among European exchanges was mixed, but the Italian benchmark outperformed the broader market, rising 0.5 percent.

According to Qatar News Agency, the banking sector provided the biggest support, rising 0.7 percent, with shares of Lloyds (UK), Societe Generale (France), and BPER Banca (Italy) advancing. The heavyweight oil and gas sector index rose 0.4 percent, buoyed by higher oil prices, while German automaker BMW's stock plunged 5.3 percent.

The broader autos sector index fell 1.5 percent, with Mercedes shares also dropping 3.1 percent. The technology equities index declined 1.1 percent, and chip-related companies ASML and ASMEL recorded the largest losses, while France's leading shares rose 0.2 percent at the start of trading.