By Peter Nurse 

- European stock markets traded in a mixed fashion Wednesday, with investors digesting raised political tensions after a missile strike in NATO-member Poland, a sharp rise in U.K. inflation and more corporate earnings.

At 03:55 ET (08:55 GMT), the in Germany traded 0.4% lower, while in France rose 0.1% and the in the U.K. climbed 0.2%.

Western leaders, including U.S. President Joe Biden, urged caution at the G20 meeting in Indonesia, after a rocket killed two people in a Polish village close to the frontier with Ukraine late Tuesday.

They are keen to avoid a major escalation with Russia, especially as doubts exist over where the missile was fired from, while Moscow has denied responsibility for the strike.

Elsewhere, the latest inflation data out of the U.K. showed that consumer prices rose in October from a year earlier, a 41-year high and a jump from 10.1% the prior month. 

The data comes just a day before Chancellor Jeremy Hunt reveals a number of measures designed to fill an estimated £50 billion (£1=$1.1881) gap in public finances, likely including tax rises and spending cuts.

Turning to the corporate sector, Siemens Energy (ETR:) stock rose 4.6% after announcing it would not be paying a dividend for 2022, citing a quarterly net loss, hit by a charge due to the restructuring of its Russian division, as well as challenges related to its struggling wind turbine division Siemens (BME:).

Experian (LON:) stock rose 0.4% after the world's largest credit data firm posted a higher first-half profit, boosted by steady demand for borrowing across its markets.

(LON:) stock rose 0.7% after the company reported a rise in half-yearly adjusted profit on strong demand for its cakes and grocery products.

(LON:) stock fell 2% after the developer posted a downturn in the value of its properties, as rising interest rates and a dark economic outlook weigh on the U.K. real estate market.

Oil prices rebounded Wednesday following an unsubstantiated report that an oil tanker has been hit by a drone off the coast of Oman, potentially impacting supply in an already tight market.

The crude market had traded lower earlier Wednesday following mixed U.S. inventories data from the , released Tuesday. While crude inventories shrank almost 6 million barrels last week, far more than expected, gasoline inventories grew 1.7 million barrels, suggesting waning demand from the biggest economy in the world. 

By 03:55 ET, futures traded 0.2% higher at $87.11 a barrel, while the contract rose 0.5% to $94.36. 

Additionally, rose 0.3% to $1,782.60/oz, while traded 0.6% higher at 1.0406.