European shares ended higher on Wednesday, helped by Anglo American's plans to return up to $1 billion to shareholders and energy stocks lifted by firmer oil prices, but weak utilities capped market gains, Reuters reported. Utilities led sectoral losers with Scottish power off 1.6 percent on talk that the $9.4 billion sale of its PacifiCorp unit could be delayed by U.S. state regulators. Other sector names such as Suez fell foul of new interest-rate worries as fears new Federal Reserve Chairman-designate Ben Bernanke might be a bit softer on fighting inflation than Alan Greenspan pushed U.S. long-bond yields to fresh six-month highs. But there was strength elsewhere, with Anglo American shares surging 6 percent after the mining giant said it would return up to $1 billion to investors next year as it culls several subsidies to focus on core mining units. "The statement reads very well. They're confident about the business and they're giving cash back to investors which is always a popular move," a dealer says. By 1545 GMT, the pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index was 0.4 percent stronger at 1,187.1 points, about 4 percent below a 41-month high of 1,242.2 points struck this month, but still up 14 percent so far this year.
