Europe stocks rise; Euro climbs against U.S. dollar; Shell, Equinor announce joint UK venture Jenni Reid

Ahead of the open, the U.K.’s Competition and Markets Authority approved a merger between telecoms firms Vodafone and Three, subject to conditions. Vodafone shares were last 1.3% higher. Oil major Shell and Norway’s Equinor meanwhile announced plans to combine their British offshore oil and gas assets to create a jointly owned energy company in Aberdeen, Scotland, set to become the U.K. North Sea’s largest independent producer. Elsewhere overnight, Asia-Pacific markets traded mixed after Wall Street stock benchmarks notched record highs yesterday. U.S. stock futures were broadly unchanged on Wednesday night. There are no major earnings or data