Europe: Unilever, Nokia earnings push shares towards record high
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[BENGALURU] European stocks edged back towards record-highs on Thursday after a slew of upbeat earnings reports and the US Federal Reserve's pledge to stick to loose monetary policy.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 index rose 0.4 per cent by 7.13am GMT, trading just about 3 points below its record peak.
Consumer goods giant Unilever rose 3.2 per cent as a pick up in home cooking and a strong economic recovery in China drove better-than-expected quarterly sales. The company also announced a share buyback programme up to three billion euros (S$4.82 billion).
Finnish telecom network equipment maker Nokia surged 13.7 per cent as growth in sales of network and 5G equipment boosted its quarterly earnings.
Among oil majors, UK's Royal Dutch Shell gained 1.6 per cent after it raised its dividend by 4 per cent following a strong quarter, while France's Total was up 1.4 per cent after it reported first-quarter earnings close to pre-pandemic levels.
French planemaker Airbus added 3 per cent after it posted higher quarterly core earnings.
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REUTERS
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