Europe: Shares shrug off US rate hike fears

[LONDON] European shares rose on Thursday, shrugging off a choppy trading session in Asia after the US Federal Reserve left the door open to an interest-rate hike, buoyed by a batch of strong corporate earnings reports.

The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index was up 0.3 per cent at 1,489.45 points by 0811 GMT.

News from the financial sector was more mixed, with Deutsche Bank slipping into the red after scrapping its dividend and Barclays down 3 per cent after a 10-per cent quarterly profits drop.

Nokia surged 10 per cent after reporting stronger-than-expected profits and announcing a new shareholder return plan, while Solvay gained 5 per cent after reporting a better than expected third-quarter underlying core profit.

Telecoms equipment maker Alcatel-Lucent rose 9 per cent after posting a net loss in the third quarter despite higher revenues from its core networking products, but adding that larger rival Nokia's plan to buy it was on track to complete in the first quarter.

Reuters