European stocks hit 2-week high on tech, earnings boost

European stocks hit a two-week high on Thursday, supported by a handful of strong earnings reports, more stimulus for Britain's economy, and a surge in Wall Street stocks as the U.S. presidential election race came down to the wire.

In its fifth day of gains, the pan-European STOXX 600 index rose 1.0% to hit its highest level since Oct. 20, with technology stocks once again leading the way.

UK's FTSE gained 0.6% after the Bank of England increased its already huge bond-buying stimulus by a bigger-than-expected 150 billion pounds ($195 billion).


French lender Societe Generale jumped 5.7% after it swung back to quarterly profit as its equity trading business continued to recover from a weak start to the year.

German broadcaster ProSiebenSat.1 Media gained 6.4% after it reinstated its outlook for the full year and returned to profit in the third quarter.

U.S. stocks jumped 2% overnight and Asian stocks scaled a near three-year peak as the likelihood of a gridlock in U.S. Congress made investors optimistic that major policy changes would be difficult to enact.