Upbeat company updates lift European shares to 1-week high
MILAN: European shares continued their bounce on Wednesday led by technology shares, as upbeat earning updates including from semiconductor bellwether ASML came to the rescue following a turbulent start to the month.
The pan-European STOXX 600 benchmark index rose 0.5 percent to a one-week high, having hit a 22-month low last week when jitters over rising U.S. bond yields and geopolitical worries rattled global markets.
The rebound was broad-based with all major European indexes and most sectors trading in positive territory.
ASML shares rose 10 percent after the Dutch equipment supplier to computer chipmakers posted a stronger-than-expected rise in third-quarter earnings that should ease worries over a slowdown in the semiconductor market.
The company said demand for memory and logic chips remains healthy and it expects further growth in 2019. That helped lift shares in other tech companies and sent their sectoral index rising 2.5 percent.
Among top gainers following results were also UK publisher Pearson and paints maker Akzo Nobel, both up more than 4 percent, while drug maker giant Roche rose 0.5 percent after a modest sales beat in the third quarter.
Fresenius Medical Care however sank 15 percent after the German dialysis specialist cut its 2018 sales and profit targets following a poor performance of its US business.
The pan-European STOXX 600 benchmark index rose 0.5 percent to a one-week high, having hit a 22-month low last week when jitters over rising U.S. bond yields and geopolitical worries rattled global markets.
The rebound was broad-based with all major European indexes and most sectors trading in positive territory.
ASML shares rose 10 percent after the Dutch equipment supplier to computer chipmakers posted a stronger-than-expected rise in third-quarter earnings that should ease worries over a slowdown in the semiconductor market.
The company said demand for memory and logic chips remains healthy and it expects further growth in 2019. That helped lift shares in other tech companies and sent their sectoral index rising 2.5 percent.
Among top gainers following results were also UK publisher Pearson and paints maker Akzo Nobel, both up more than 4 percent, while drug maker giant Roche rose 0.5 percent after a modest sales beat in the third quarter.
Fresenius Medical Care however sank 15 percent after the German dialysis specialist cut its 2018 sales and profit targets following a poor performance of its US business.
