Investing.com - European equities closed in a mixed fashion on Wednesday despite a jump in Eurozone business activity and a wave of corporate earnings updates earlier offseting persistent Middle East geopolitical uncertainty and mixed single-stock reactions. Sinking energy costs provided initial breathing room for European equity desks, with Brent crude falling 1.4% to ease upward pressure on sovereign bond yields. Earnings delivery across major European heavyweights produced a divergent market impact. Conversely, Swiss generic drugmaker Sandoz Group AG surged 7% to top the benchmark index after reporting a 9% jump in second-quarter net sales. In contrast, German logistics titan DHL Group slipped 1.7% despite beating second-quarter earnings estimates and expanding its share buyback program, while semiconductor manufacturer Infineon Technologies AG dropped 2.5% following its third-quarter financial results.