Oil bounce, results keep stocks on high

Oil's rise back above $50 a barrel helped prod stock markets higher on Wednesday and company results and economic data continued to soothe worries that the world economy may be ripe for a another slowdown.

European stock markets were mainly higher, led by energy and commodity-linked companies after Brent crude topped the $50 mark for the first time since early June. 

A slightly less bullish performance in Asia pulled the MSCI world equity index, which tracks shares in 46 countries, off all-time highs overnight. But early in the European session, it was up 0.1 percent on the day. 

Strong results from energy firms Subsea 7 and Tullow Oil helped European shares while banks weighed on index-level gains as investors awaited a Fed policy decision and UK GDP figures.

The pan-European STOXX 600 gained 0.3 percent, in line with euro zone stocks and blue-chips, as oil and gas stocks gained 0.8 percent. 

Germany’s Ifo business survey on Tuesday showed confidence soaring to record highs in July amid what its economists described as a ‘euphoric’ mood in German industry while U.S. consumer confidence levels jumped to near 16-year highs. 

The latter numbers helped the dollar recover some ground in U.S. and Asian trading on Tuesday, with traders citing a trimming of positions ahead of the Fed meeting, not due until late in the U.S. session. (1800 GMT) 

The dollar, hurt since March by a retreat in expectations for further rises in interest rates this year, gained just over 0.1 percent against both the euro and the euro-dominated basket of currencies most used to measure its broader strength.