EUROPEAN shares rose on Thursday, boosted by industrials after Swiss engineering company ABB touched a record high following upbeat results, while Germany-listed Sartorius had its biggest one-day drop in 17 months after bleak quarterly orders.

The continent-wide Stoxx 600 closed 0.3 per cent higher, as the earnings season picked up steam.

ABB jumped 6.3 per cent after reporting better-than-expected first-quarter profit and signalling faster growth in coming months, lifting the industrial goods and services sector 0.7 per cent.

Telecommunications climbed 1 per cent, boosted by a 6.7 per cent jump in Sweden’s Tele2 following first-quarter service revenues and earnings beat.

Banks also jumped 1.9 per cent, led by a 5.3 per cent advance in Bankinter after it sounded an optimistic tone on the future evolution of lending income following a robust first-quarter. Millennium bcp rose 6 per cent as the Portuguese bank will resume dividend payments after a one-year hiatus.

On the flip side, Sartorius slumped 15.9 per cent after the lab supplies maker’s first-quarter figures missed expectations for order intake and revenue. The company’s France-listed shares dropped 15.7 per cent.

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As markets gear up for a flurry of corporate reports in the weeks to follow, first-quarter earnings are expected to decrease 12.1 per cent year-on-year, LSEG data showed on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, the European Central Bank made it clear that a June interest rate cut is coming but policymakers continued to differ on moves thereafter or how low interest rates can go before once again starting to stimulate the economy.

“The fact that the ECB seems to have distanced itself from the Federal Reserve concerning monetary policy could also offer some support for European equities,” said Daniela Hathorn, senior market analyst at Capital.com.

Hathorn highlighted the euro zone CPI being close to a 2 per cent target has also helped markets adopt the idea of lower rates in Europe, which will aid struggling economic growth.

The benchmark Stoxx is more than 2 per cent away from a record closing high hit in March, as traders price in uncertainties around geopolitical tensions, impact of record high EU interest rates on corporate performances and the timing of US rate cuts.

Among other stocks, Forvia rose 7.9 per cent after the European automotive supplier’s first-quarter organic sales growth topped expectations.

Software group Planisware jumped 25.6 per cent in a strong market debut in Paris.

EQT dropped 5.9 per cent after the Swedish investment company reported lower than expected first-quarter results and said it expects fundraising to continue at least through 2024.

The technology sector fell 0.8 per cent, as chip equipment maker ASML continued its decline, down 1.4 per cent, following Wednesday’s new bookings miss. REUTERS