European stocks advanced on Thursday, supported by soild corporate results from insurance ginats Munich Re and Generali, while Societe Generale slid following its deputy CEO unexpected resignation.
Photo: Reuters
The pan-European STOXX 600 index rose 0.21%.
British FTSE 100 ticked up 0.14%, France's CAC 40 surged 0.28% and Germany's DAX was up 0.43%.
The Bank of France raised its growth outlook to 1.9% from 1.7% due to rising exports, as well as company investment and consumer spending.
Assicurazioni Generali SpA jumped 2.1% after the company posted a net profit of 2.11 billion euros.
Shares of Deutsche Lufthansa AG slipped 1.4% despite strong results last year. The second largest air carrier in Europe reported its 2017 net income increased 33.1% to 2.36 billion euros from 1.78 billion euros.