European shares gain on earnings boost; Hexagon buoyed by record profit

European shares rose for a third straight session on Wednesday, recouping nearly half of their January losses, as strong fourth-quarter earnings outweighed concerns surrounding interest rate hikes ahead of key central bank decisions due on Thursday.

The pan-European STOXX 600 gained 0.6%, with chemical stocks and financials in the lead.

British online supermarket group Ocado was the top performer in early trade, gaining 7.0% after Credit Suisse double upgraded the stock to "outperform" from "underperform".


Swedish industrial technology group Hexagon gained 3.5% after beating market expectations with record quarterly earnings.

German chip supplier Siltronic added 3% after posting a 17% rise in quarterly earnings and saying it expected semiconductor demand to increase.

Novo Nordisk climbed 1% despite missing expectations for fourth-quarter operating profit, as the Danish drug developer said it aimed to generate sales growth of between 6% and 10% in local currencies in 2022.

Swedbank dropped 2.9% after posting a fourth-quarter operating profit that was slightly lower than expected, as weaker results from fixed income trading weighed and supply problems tempered economic growth.