European stocks advanced to hit a seven-week high on Thursday as investors reacted to a slew of earnings updates and less-hawkish-than-feared messaging from Fed Chair Jerome Powell.<\/p>\n
The pan European Stoxx 600 edged up 0.2 percent to 428.95 after gaining half a percent in the previous session.<\/p>\n
Other key indexes reversed course to slip into the red after the latest U.S. earnings proved to be a mixed bag. <\/p>\n
Facebook parent Meta Platforms Inc. posted its first ever quarterly sales decline and Qualcomm forecast fourth-quarter revenue below Wall Street targets, while Ford Motor Co.’s performance beat estimates.<\/p>\n
U.S. GDP data for the second quarterly will be released later in the day and economists expect negative growth. <\/p>\n
Investors also awaited a phone call between U.S. President Joe Biden and China’s Xi Jinping, which could touch on U.S. tariffs and other points of tension.<\/p>\n
The German DAX dipped 0.4 percent, France’s CAC 40 was marginally lower while the U.K.’s FTSE 100 was dipped 0.2 percent. <\/p>\n
British energy giant Shell rose 1.2 percent after its second-quarter profit jumped more than five-fold.<\/p>\n
Franco-Italian chipmaker STMicroelectronics rallied 2.2 percent after its second-quarter revenue exceeded analysts’ estimates. <\/p>\n
Spanish lender Banco Santander fell nearly 3 percent after missing profit estimates.<\/p>\n
Miner Anglo American surged 4.6 percent after backing its FY22 production view. <\/p>\n
Telecommunications group BT slumped 5.7 percent after reporting lower pre-tax profit in the first quarter. <\/p>\n
French utility EDF was marginally lower after reporting a historic loss for the first half of 2022.<\/p>\n
Accor plunged 7.5 percent while Schneider Electric surged 4 percent after reporting their financial results. <\/p>\n
German healthcare firm Fresenius plummeted 9 percent after cutting its FY outlook.<\/p>\n
Automaker Volkswagen added 2.5 percent after confirming its FY22 view. <\/p>\n