Europe's leading stock markets nudged higher on Wednesday as traders awaited key US economic data and assessed the latest batch of company results.

London's benchmark FTSE 100 index added just 0.09 percent to 5,5607.24 points, Frankfurt's DAX 30 gained 0.25 percent to 5,900.79 points and in Paris the CAC 40 was up 0.32 percent to 3,922.62 points.

The Stoxx 50 index of top eurozone shares rose 0.27 percent to 2,888.68 points.

"European markets were largely subdued on Wednesday with many investors sitting on the sidelines and waiting for macroeconomic news to help dictate their next moves," City Index analyst Joshua Raymond said.

"You get the feeling that the markets are on a bit of a crossroads right now. Investors ... are largely sitting on the sidelines."

Markets were waiting for US figures on trade and weekly jobless claims that are scheduled to be released on Thursday.

Investors also continued to focus on Greece and the risk that its public debt problems might spread to Portugal and other European nations.

In London, traders also absorbed an official announcement that the British government will unveil its annual budget on March 24, a step widely taken to mean the country will go to the polls in early May.

In Germany, power company E.ON shares gained 0.95 percent to 27.135 euros after reporting a steady 2009 net profit of 5.33 billion euros (7.25 billion dollars).

In earlier Asian deals on Wednesday, Tokyo's Nikkei-225 index dropped a marginal 0.04 percent to end at 10,563.92 points.

Investors were cautious ahead of consumer price data from key export destination China due on Thursday that could stoke concerns about further steps by Beijing to cool its fast-growing economy, dealers said.

Shares in troubled automaker Toyota closed down 1.4 percent after news of an another accelerator-related incident involving a Prius model in the United States.

On Tuesday, Wall Street stocks posted modest gains on the one-year anniversary of the beginning of the market's rebound from its lows last year.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.11 percent to 10,564.38 points after closing on a flat note a day earlier in the absence of market-moving news.

Investors were cautious as Wall Street marked the anniversary of the stock market's 12-year low set on March 9, 2009 at the nadir of the financial crisis.

Since then, the blue-chip Dow index has rallied more than 60 percent, leading other global markets to similar gains.