European oil & gas stocks <.SXEP> were lifted by BP (>> BP plc) and Royal Dutch Shell , while banking shares <.SX7P> were also firmer, underpinning the pan-European STOXX 600 <.STOXX> index, which was up 0.1 percent.

Among the national markets, Britain's FTSE 100 <.FTSE> rose 0.2 percent, while Germany's DAX <.GDAXI> fell 0.2 percent, weighed down by stocks including Hugo Boss (>> Hugo Boss AG) and Evonik (>> Evonik Industries AG) going ex-dividend.

European auto stocks <.SXAP> were the biggest sectoral fallers, down more than 1 percent. They were led lower by a 2.5 percent fall in Daimler , which extended losses after its sites were searched on Tuesday by German prosecutors in an emissions probe, and a 1 percent fall in Fiat Chrysler (>> Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV).

Shares in the Italian carmaker recouped some of their earlier losses after the U.S. government sued it over emissions.

"This case is likely to take a long time (VW settled in 16 months) and should weigh on FCA’s share price for some time as the message regarding the execution of its 2018 plan is likely to be overwhelmed," analysts at Barclays said in a note.

Miners were another weak spot with the basic resources index <.SXPP> declining 0.7 percent following a dip in copper.

Mining giant Glencore (>> Glencore PLC) was also 1.1 percent lower after it said that it had made an informal approach to U.S. grains trader Bunge (>> Bunge Ltd) to discuss "a possible consensual business combination".

On the positive side, a well-received set of fourth-quarter results from Dixons Carphone (>> Dixons Carphone PLC) lifted its shares more than 4 percent, while Britvic's (>> Britvic Plc) first-half update also boosted its shares.

British retailer Kingfisher (>> Kingfisher plc) was the biggest STOXX faller, however, down more than 6 percent after a trading update, while engineer Babcock (>> Babcock International Group PLC) also fell 2.3 percent after its full-year results.

Shares in aerospace groups Safran (>> SAFRAN) and Zodiac (>> Zodiac Aerospace), whose merger plans have been criticised by some investors, were suspended on Wednesday.

(Editing by Vikram Subhedar and Alexander Smith)

By Kit Rees