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(Reuters) -European shares rallied in morning trade on Thursday, as forecast-beating results from companies including energy major TotalEnergies and automaker Volvo helped set aside worries about slowing global economic growth.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index rose 1.3%, extending gains for a second day, with all regional bourses in the black.
Automakers rallied 3.2%. Volvo Cars jumped 7.8% after its profit beat analysts’ forecasts as demand for its products remained strong.
France’s TotalEnergies gained 2.3% following plans to buy back its own shares after core earnings rose sharply on soaring oil and gas prices.
UK-listed bank Standard Chartered (OTC:SCBFF) jumped 14.0% and Spain’s Banco Sabadell climbed 1.9% after reporting upbeat quarterly earnings.
“The earnings season so far has been pretty supportive for corporates. It generally seems that they’re able to continue to push through some of the costs through pricing,” said Roger Jones, head of equities at London & Capital.
“But if there is a growth slowdown in the pipeline, we’re not yet seeing it in terms of earnings, how long it (earnings strength) will persist I suppose is a very big question.”
Of the 23% of STOXX 600 companies that have reported so far, 65% have topped earnings estimates, as per Refinitiv IBES data. In a typical quarter, 52% beat forecasts.
Despite a steady earnings season, April has been a volatile ride for stock markets globally, with the STOXX 600 sinking to an over one-month low at one point on concerns over rising interest rates, valuations of U.S. technology firms, the Ukraine conflict and China’s COVID lockdowns.
Still, better-than-expected results from Meta Platforms Inc looked set to boost Wall Street at the open, with its shares surging 17.6% in early U.S. premarket trading.
A flash reading of first-quarter U.S. GDP data will be released later in the day, while euro zone consumer confidence and German inflation data for April are also due.
German online takeaway food company Delivery Hero reversed course to drop 6.4% even as it forecast a positive adjusted core profit for its food delivery business this year.
Meal-kit maker HelloFresh added 3.0% on strong results.
Among decliners, Swedish banking group Swedbank slipped 0.5% after narrowly beating profit estimates.
