Europe's leading stock markets advanced on Thursday, shaking off falls in Tokyo, as dealers reacted to a barrage of earnings from blue-chip companies, including strong numbers from telecoms.
A rise in eurozone business and consumer confidence to its highest level in more than two years added to the positive tone.
In London, the FTSE 100 index of leading shares put on 0.68 percent to 5,355.92 points. Frankfurt's DAX 30 was up 0.59 percent to 6,215.32 points and in Paris the CAC 40 index rallied 0.52 percent to 3,689.45 near the half-way mark.
The Stoxx 50 index of top eurozone shares added 0.57 percent at 2,774.99 points.
"In mid-morning trading, shares in London have bounced back and reclaimed some of the ground lost yesterday," said Anthony Grech, head of research at trading group IG Index.
"Pleasing numbers from some blue-chip heavyweights has lifted sentiment this morning. Telecoms business BT Group has seen profits rise in the first quarter thanks to cost cutting measures and pharma AstraZeneca has beaten expectations for second quarter profits and raised its forecast for the next one.
"This has meant a strong start to the day for both shares which is helping to inspire a broad based rally across a mix of sectors," he added.
BT rose 2.79 percent to 143.76 pence and AstraZeneca soared 4.84 percent to 3,357.5 pence.
Elsewhere, France Telecom gained 5.64 percent to 16.02 euros in Paris, after the group reported a 45.4-percent leap in net profit for the first six months.
The net profit of 3.72 billion euros (4.8 billion dollars) exceeded analysts' expectations and the company stood by its targets for this year and next.
Japanese shares closed down 0.59 percent on Thursday on profit-taking as the safe-haven yen firmed but sentiment was generally positive ahead of corporate earnings reports, dealers said.
After the closing bell Nissan, Japan's number three automaker announced a quarterly net profit of 106.6 billion yen (1.22 billion dollars), after a 16.5 billion yen loss a year earlier.
The US stock market swung lower Wednesday after a Federal Reserve report signalling a slower economic recovery and news of a fall in durables goods orders in June prompted consolidation of recent gains.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average of blue chips fell 0.38 percent to 10,497.88 points, ending a four-day winning streak.
Copyright 2010  AFP Global Edition
