European shares edge higher; Infineon, miners lead

European shares edged higher in early deals on Thursday, with a solid quarterly report from Infineon and gains among mining stocks on a rebound in metal prices providing support.

The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index was up 0.4 per cent by 0826 GMT, having gained 1.4 per cent in the previous session, while the Euro STOXX 50 was up 0.3 per cent.

Infineon climbed 8 per cent after the auto and industrial chip maker posted higher-than-expected quarterly operating result and promised a revenue rise for the new year at the high end of analysts’ expectations.

Most sectors were in positive territory. Mining stocks were the top sectoral gainer with a rise of 1.1 per cent. Base metals prices staged a broad-based rally after an early-week rout that pulled prices to multi-year lows.

Auto stocks were also in demand, with the sector index rising 1 per cent.

Reuters