European stock markets have remained steady on Wednesday.<br /><br />They’ve been near last week’s multi-year highs helped by shares in major energy companies.<br /><br />Many investors have held off as the US Federal Reserve’s two day meeting ends on Wednesday.<br /><br />Meanwhile, the ongoing violence in Iraq, OPEC’s second biggest producer, has lead to an increase in oil prices.<br /><br />Brent crude oil rose to over 114 dollars a barrel as Iraq’s biggest refinery came under attack. This is around six dollars more than at the beginning of the year.<br /><br />This caused an increase in the share prices of Royal Dutch Shell, BP and Total.
