Europe: Shares edge higher ahead of ECB meeting

[MILAN] European shares edged higher on Thursday as investors awaited a European Central Bank policy meeting later in the day and after a positive earnings update from drugmaker Roche.

The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index was up 0.1 per cent after closing broadly flat in the previous session.

The ECB is likely to keep the door open for more monetary stimulus but stop short of taking new policy steps at a meeting on Thursday as it awaits fresh indications about the outlook for euro zone inflation.

Roche shares rose 1.5 per cent after the world's biggest cancer drug company raised its full-year sales outlook.

Publicis fell 7 per cent after the world's third-biggest advertising agency cut its annual organic growth target to 1 per cent from 2.5 per cent as quarterly sales slowed markedly hurt by weakness in the United States.

Carmaker Daimler was 1.3 per cent lower after third-quarter operating profit jumped by almost a third as strong demand in Europe and China coupled with new product launches spurred luxury-car sales to a record.

REUTERS