(Updates with closing levels; adds new comments in paragraph 8) By Brigid Riley TOKYO, June 19 (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei share average ended higher on Wednesday, tracking an overnight Wall Street rally in semiconductor stocks, although profit-booking limited gains. Japan's technology shares had rallied in the morning, following gains in U.S. chip star Nvidia ( NVDA ), which overtook Microsoft...

LONDON, June 19 (Reuters) - Euro zone government bond yields fell slightly on Wednesday, while the risk premium that investors demand to hold French bonds held steady as investors watched political developments in France. The gap between France's and Germany's 10-year yields stood at 73 basis points (bps), up less than 1 bp from the day before but down from...

SHANGHAI, June 19 (Reuters) - China is expected to hold benchmark lending rates steady on Thursday, a Reuters survey showed, even as expectations for an interest rate reduction grew this month following a flurry of weaker-than-expected economic data. Analysts note that policymakers' ability to reduce lending rates will remain constrained by China's wide yield gap with developed countries, especially the...

(For a Reuters live blog on U.S., UK and European stock markets, click or type LIVE/ in a news window) June 19 (Reuters) - European shares opened flat on Wednesday as losses in heavyweight healthcare stocks kept a lid on gains, while shares in Britain came under pressure following fresh inflation data. The pan-European STOXX 600 held steady at 515.25...