European shares climb on positive corporate earnings; French stocks hit record high By Reuters

By Shubham Batra

(Reuters) -European shares rose on Thursday, boosted by gains in French stocks and UK’s soft GDP data, while comments by European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde on the disinflation process in the euro zone lifted sentiment.

French shares outperformed regional peers, with France’s benchmark index hitting a record high, on robust earnings from Renault (EPA:) and Pernod Ricard (EPA:).

The surge also pushed the automobiles and parts index to a near two-year high, rising 1.7%.

Shares of Renault rose 6.2% after the automaker reported margin and revenue gains and offered more cash to investors with a huge increase in its dividend, while Pernod Ricard advanced 5.4% as the spirits maker now expected sales to flatline this year after a tough first six months.

The pan-European climbed 0.6% to trade over a two-year high, with Goldman Sachs (NYSE:) raising its 2024 target for the benchmark index to 510 points, representing about 5% upside from current levels.

UK’s also gained 0.6% as Britain’s economy entered a recession in the second half of 2023, fuelling bets that the Bank of England would ease its monetary policy.

“The UK economy is basically bumping along the bottom. The contraction in growth was only very mild over the second half,” said Stephen Payne, portfolio manager at Henderson Global Investors.

All the sectors were trading in the green, except oil and gas shares that slid nearly 1% after a fall in shares of BP (LON:) and Shell (LON:) as they traded ex-divided.

Investors drew positive inferences after Lagarde told a European Parliament hearing in Brussels that recent economic data out of the euro zone indicated that inflation is heading back to the target as predicted.

Shares of Tomra jumped 22.7% to the top of the benchmark index after the Norwegian waste management provider posted fourth-quarter results above estimates, owing to a strong sales development in its collection and recycling units.

Fortnox (ST:) soared 15.8% after the Swedish software company posts Q4 results above expectation and ups its dividend.

Germany’s Commerzbank (ETR:) was up 2.1% as the lender said it was aiming for another profit rise in 2024 after posting its biggest profit in 15 years in 2023.

Embracer dropped 14.8% to the bottom of STOXX 600 after the Swedish games developer reported a slightly weaker-than-expected operating profit for the October-December period, but maintained its full-year forecast.

Stellantis edged 0.1% higher. The automaker warned of a “turbulent” year ahead as its operating profit fell 10% in the second half.