European stocks rose slightly on Thursday, ahead of the European Central Bank's monetary policy meeting, as investors assessed a fresh batch of positive earnings results.
The European Stoxx 600 index rose 0.3% to 646.29 points.
The European Central Bank is widely expected to keep interest rates unchanged at 2.5%, while all eyes are on President Christine Lagarde's comments regarding the French bond crisis and her future in office.
Corporate results remained a focus of investor attention, having been the main driver of market sentiment in recent times.
Shell announced net profits of $10.81 billion for the third quarter, exceeding expectations and recording its highest level since 2022. It also strengthened its share buyback program, which pushed the energy giant's stock up by 2.6%.
The energy sector rose by 1%, while the UK's FTSE 100 index climbed by 0.3%.
Airbus shares rose 3.2% after the company maintained its full-year outlook and production plans, despite posting mixed results during the third quarter.
In contrast, the technology sector declined by 0.7%, affected by the weakness witnessed by the sector’s stocks globally, following investors’ assessment of Alphabet’s results, whose stock fell by 10.8% in pre-market trading in the US, after recording revenues below expectations and increasing cash spending to finance artificial intelligence infrastructure.
