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The
pan-European STOXX 600 index rose 1.3%, extending gains for a
second day, with all regional bourses in the black.
Automakers rallied 3.2%. Volvo Cars jumped 7.8% after its profit
beat analysts' forecasts as demand for its products remained
strong.
France's TotalEnergies gained 2.3% following plans to buy back
its own shares after core earnings rose sharply on soaring oil
and gas prices.
UK-listed bank Standard Chartered jumped 14.0% and Spain's Banco
Sabadell climbed 1.9% after reporting upbeat quarterly earnings.
"The earnings season so far has been pretty supportive for
corporates. It generally seems that they're able to continue to
push through some of the costs through pricing," said Roger
Jones, head of equities at London & Capital.
"But if there is a growth slowdown in the pipeline, we're not
yet seeing it in terms of earnings, how long it (earnings
strength) will persist I suppose is a very big question."
Of the 23% of STOXX 600 companies that have reported so far, 65%
have topped earnings estimates, as per Refinitiv IBES data. In a
typical quarter, 52% beat forecasts.
Despite a steady earnings season, April has been a volatile ride
for stock markets globally, with the STOXX 600 sinking to an
over one-month low at one point on concerns over rising interest
rates, valuations of U.S. technology firms, the Ukraine conflict
and China's COVID lockdowns.
Still, better-than-expected results from Meta Platforms Inc
looked set to boost Wall Street at the open, with its shares
surging 17.6% in early U.S. premarket trading.
A flash reading of first-quarter U.S. GDP data will be released
later in the day, while euro zone consumer confidence and German
inflation data for April are also due.
German online takeaway food company Delivery Hero reversed
course to drop 6.4% even as it forecast a positive adjusted core
profit for its food delivery business this year.
Meal-kit maker HelloFresh added 3.0% on strong results.
Among decliners, Swedish banking group Swedbank slipped 0.5%
after narrowly beating profit estimates.
(Reporting by Sruthi Shankar in BengaluruEditing by Shounak
Dasgupta and Mark Potter)
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