- LVMH hits all-time high after strong Q1 report
- Tesco expects flat annual profit after inflation hit
- STOXX 600 up 0.1%, France's CAC 40 adds 0.9%
April 13 (Reuters) - European shares edged higher on Thursday, supported by gains in luxury stocks after LVMH posted strong first-quarter sales and hopes of a pause in the U.S. Federal Reserve's rate hike cycle following cooler-than-expected inflation data.
The pan-European STOXX 600 inched up 0.1% by 0824 GMT, as investors looked past hawkish comments by European central bankers.
The blue-chip STOXX 50 index edged up 0.3%, after hitting its highest level in 22 years on Wednesday.
LVMH, the world's largest luxury company, gained 4.6% on reporting a 17% jump in first-quarter sales that breezed past estimates as business in China rebounded sharply.
"You're probably going to see a few surprises like that this year, particularly with companies that are exposed to the Chinese middle class and consumer spending which has obviously been bottled up over the last year or so because of lockdowns," said Andrew Bell, CEO, Witan Investment Trust.
Luxury peers Richemont and Hermes added more than 3%, each.
France's CAC 40 led regional gains, up 0.9% to hit a record high.
"France obviously benefits because it's got a healthy proportion of these luxury goods and consumer related stocks," said Bell, adding, there were three potential beneficiaries from this optimistic environment across Europe - luxury stocks on reopening, banks on being oversold on fundamentals and the energy sector on hopes of a good profit momentum.
Shares of Italy's biggest utility Enel dropped 4.2%, after the country's Treasury appointed Flavio Cattaneo as its CEO.
Britain's biggest retailer Tesco rose 1.6% on forecasting flat profit in its new financial year, stemming the 6.3% decline from 2022/23.
UK's FTSE 100 slipped 0.1% after data showed Britain's economy failed to grow as expected in February, as strikes by public workers hit output.
Investors awaited a speech by European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde and a host of other central bankers at the IMF/World Bank Spring meetings in Washington DC.
Euro zone's industrial production data for February, due later in the day, is also in focus.
Reporting by Bansari Mayur Kamdar in Bengaluru; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty and Rashmi Aich
Source: Reuters