European shares rise on earnings, recovery hopes

European shares rose for the third session on Wednesday as focus remained on a busy day of earnings, with positive sentiment spilling over from Asian markets on hopes of a faster global economic recovery.

Siemens rose 1.8 per cent as the German engineering company raised its 2021 outlook after beating first-quarter expectations on faster-than-anticipated recovery from the Covid-19 downturn in China and Germany.

Germany's DAX index gained 0.8 per cent, while the STOXX 600 index rose 0.9 per cent.


Novo Nordisk added 3.2 per cent after the diabetes drug maker gave upbeat sales and profit forecasts for 2021.

All of the major European sector indexes were in positive territory in early trading.

Swedish truckmaker AB Volvo rose 0.7 per cent after reporting fourth-quarter core earnings above expectations, raising its forecasts for some of its main markets and rolling out a hefty shareholder payout.

Markets remained hopeful for U.S. President Joe Biden's proposed $1.9 trillion Covid-19 aid bill as the Senate took steps to allow Democrats to pass Biden's package without Republican support.