European shares edged higher on Thursday as a surprise rise in China's exports overshadowed another set of grim results and a warning from Air France-KLM that demand could take "several years" to recover.
The pan-European
STOXX 600 rose 0.6 per cent by 0715 GMT, following a steady session in Asia after Beijing reported a 3.5 per cent rise in April exports, confounding market expectations for a sharp fall, as factories restarted production after the coronavirus pandemic.
Europe's miners and retailers, exposed to the health of the worlds No. 2 economy, led gains with a 1.5 per cent rise.
Air France dipped 2.7 per cent as the group predicted operating losses to widen "significantly" in April-June quarter, with 95 per cent of flights expected to remain grounded.
However, British Airways-owner IAG rose 0.5 per cent after saying it was planning for flights to return to service in July although passenger capacity would be about 50 per cent lower.
Britain's largest telecoms group BT tumbled 6.5 per cent and was the biggest decliner on UK's FTSE 100 after it suspended its dividend until 2021-22 and pulled its financial outlook in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.