European shares rise as upbeat earnings blunt virus fears

European stocks rose in early trading on Monday as strong earnings updates from Dutch firm Philips and Swiss wealth manager Julius Baer overshadowed worries about fresh coronavirus restrictions across the continent.

The pan-European STOXX 600 index rose 0.8% by 0711 GMT, resuming gains after posting small weekly losses.

With European third-quarter earnings set to recover from a pandemic-led slump, health technology company Philips rose 3.2% as it reported a much better-than-expected 32% jump in core earnings.

Julius Baer gained 5.3% after it indicated an improvement in profitability for the first nine months of 2020 as client activity increased and it cut costs.

Danone, the world's largest yoghurt maker, advanced 2.3% as it reinstated its forecasts for 2020 and said it was launching a review of its assets.

Luxury stocks such as LVMH, Hermes and Pernod Ricard rose more than 1% after China reported a better-than-expected retail sales growth in September.