- Lufthansa faces possible pilot strike after pension talks fail
- Adidas up on bullish brokerage ratings
- Euro zone economic growth remains sluggish in August, PMI shows
- US July job openings data expected at 1400 GMT
Sept 3 (Reuters) - European shares edged higher on Wednesday, recovering from steep falls in the previous session, as a selloff in longer-dated bonds appeared to stabilize, while investors awaited U.S. job openings data.
The STOXX 600 index was up 0.66% at 546.78 points, as of 0943 GMT, boosted by technology stocks such as STMicroelectronics and Dutch chipmaker ASML.
Adidas climbed 4.2% after brokerage Jefferies raised its rating on the German sportswear brand to "buy" from "hold" and J.P.Morgan placed it on a positive catalyst watch.
The STOXX index had logged its biggest one-day loss in a month on Tuesday, pressured by a rise in bond yields as investors grew increasingly concerned over fiscal pressures in developed economies worldwide.
Longer-dated developed market bond yields were pinned at multi-year highs, with those on 30-year French papers at 16-year highs, as developed market fiscal worries resurfaced against the backdrop of political tensions in France. Bond yields move inversely to prices.
French Prime Minister Francois Bayrou's government is expected to face a no-confidence motion next week after he sought to push through unpopular plans for a budget squeeze in 2026.
"What's really happened is that we've seen participants come back today and realize that actually the bull case for equities remains pretty much intact," said Michael Brown, senior research strategist at Pepperstone.
"Earnings growth is still solid, economic growth is proving resilient and of course, the global direction of monetary policy is still towards a looser stance as trade tensions cool as well."
Investors were also entering a volatile period, with September historically being a tough month for markets.
On the data front, a private survey showed the euro zone economy kept expanding at a snail's pace in August, as weaker services growth offset improved manufacturing output.
German airline Lufthansa fell 2.3%. Germany's VC pilots' union called for a strike late on Tuesday after talks with the airline on its pension scheme collapsed.
Swiss Life dropped 2.2% after the insurer posted a lower first-half net profit due to higher tax expenses.
Insurance companies are among the top investors in longer-dated bonds, and a selloff in bonds could weigh on their portfolio valuations. The sector lost 1.1% on Wednesday and has declined 2% this week.
Later in the day, a report on July job openings in the U.S. is also expected and could throw light on the health of the labour market ahead of the U.S. Federal Reserve's meeting later this month.
Reporting by Tristan Veyet in Gdansk and Johann M Cherian in Bengaluru, Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips and Shinjini Ganguli
Source: Reuters