European shares rose on Thursday helped by good-looking results from companies, including insurance heavyweights Munich Re and Generali, while Societe Generale fell after its deputy CEO unexpectedly quit.
SocGen shares were down 3 per cent, leading losers in Paris, after the bank said Didier Valet was leaving following “a divergence of approaches regarding management of a specific legal matter”.
Gains in the insurance sector however helped push the pan-European STOXX 600 index up 0.2 per cent by 0844 GMT.
Top gainer on the STOXX was British valve maker Spirax-Sarco Engineering , up 4.5 per cent after it reported better-than-expected full-year revenues and profit.
Swedish clothing firm H&M however published lower-than-expected quarterly sales and its shares lost 4.8 per cent. Dufry shares fell 5.9 percent after results with traders attributing the drop to a lack of clarity on its dividend plans.