European shares climbed on Wednesday as gains ⁠in financial and energy stocks helped stage a recovery from declines in the previous session. The pan-European STOXX 600 was up ⁠0.4% at ‌581.81 as of 0933 GMT, within striking distance of a record high.

Major regional bourses followed the positive trend, with the UK's FTSE 100 set for its biggest one-day gain since April, up ⁠1.4%.

British consumer price inflation fell unexpectedly sharply in November, data showed, prompting investors to add to bets for an interest rate cut on Thursday.

Banks were the biggest boost to the STOXX 600, up 1.2% and trading close to levels last seen in 2008. London's HSBC jumped 3.5% to a record high with traders ⁠pointing to a broker rating upgrade on ​the stock.

Kiran Ganesh, multi-asset strategist at UBS Global Wealth Management said that a combination of factors such as financial markets doing well, increasing merger ‍and acquisition activity, and lighter regulations across Europe and the U.S. are positive catalysts for some banks.

Commodity-linked stocks also traded higher, with energy firms ​jumping 1.6%, tracking a rise in oil prices after the U.S. ordered a blockade on sanctioned oil vessels in Venezuela. Shell and BP gained about 2% each.

Mining stocks rose 1.7% after silver prices hit a record high and gold bullion prices also inched up.

Most major sectors on the STOXX 600 treaded higher, while construction and materials and automobiles were at the bottom.

The positive momentum marks a recovery from Tuesday's modest decline, after the much-anticipated U.S. nonfarm payrolls report kept bets on U.S. interest rate cuts in 2026 largely intact.

The STOXX 600 has rallied nearly 15% this year, buoyed by falling interest rates across the continent and global investors diversifying away from premium-valued U.S. tech stocks.

Several monetary ⁠policy decisions are on the radar this week, including those by the ‌European Central Bank (ECB), Sweden's Riksbank, Bank of England, and Norway's Norges Bank.

Among individual stocks, London-based Bunzl fell 4% to the bottom of the STOXX 600 after the business supplies distributor forecast a slight year-on-year drop in its ‌2026 operating margin.

Serco topped ⁠the STOXX 600 with a 5.8% gain after the outsourcing firm forecast profit ahead of analyst expectations for this year and ⁠next.

(Reporting by Ragini Mathur and Purvi Agarwal; Editing by Sonia Cheema and Ronojoy Mazumdar)