EUROPE MARKETS: Europe Stocks Recoup, Kabel Deutschland Rallies

By Sara Sjolin, MarketWatch

LONDON (MarketWatch) -- European stock markets rose on Wednesday, partly recovering from the prior day's sharp losses and with investors looking ahead to industrial-production data for the euro zone.

Also of interest in the region, Germany's constitutional court continued its two-day hearing on the legality of the European Central Bank's bond-buying program, the Outright Monetary Transactions, or OMT program.

The Stoxx Europe 600 index added 0.3% to 292.50 after sliding 1.2% on Tuesday.

Shares of Kabel Deutschland Holding AG rallied 7.1% after Vodafone Group PLC (VOD) confirmed it has made a preliminary approach about making an offer for the German TV and Internet provider. Shares of Vodafone dropped 1.7%.

Volkswagen AG gave up 2.2% after the car maker recalled almost 26,000 vehicles in Australia due to faulty gearboxes.

Later in the day attention turns to industrial-production data from the euro zone, expected to show a mild improvement in April.

In Germany, the final day of a two-day hearing about the ECB's unlimited bond-buying program got under way. Executive board member of the ECB Joerg Asmussen said at the hearing on Tuesday he was "firmly convinced that introducing the OMT program was the right thing to do to ensure price stability in the euro area. After all, a currency can only be stable if its continued existence is not in doubt."

Meanwhile, Bundesbank President Jens Weidmann said unlimited bond purchases would infringe the ECB's mandate. The Bundesbank has earlier criticized the OMT program for creating moral hazard and taking pressure off errant governments. Read: Just say no to ECB bond-buying: Buba chief

Among notable movers on Wednesday, shares of HeidelbergCement AG lost 3.3% in Frankfurt after Morgan Stanley cut the firm to equal weight from overweight.

The DAX 30 index was flat around 8,222.72.

France's CAC 40 index rose 0.3% to 3,820.65, with shares of oil giant Total SA (TOT) up 0.6%.

The U.K.'s FTSE 100 index was slightly higher at 6,341.02.

Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires