European Shares Mixed Ahead Of US GDP Data

(RTTNews) - European stocks advanced to hit a seven-week high on Thursday as investors reacted to a slew of earnings updates and less-hawkish-than-feared messaging from Fed Chair Jerome Powell.

The pan European Stoxx 600 edged up 0.2 percent to 428.95 after gaining half a percent in the previous session.

Other key indexes reversed course to slip into the red after the latest U.S. earnings proved to be a mixed bag.

Facebook parent Meta Platforms Inc. posted its first ever quarterly sales decline and Qualcomm forecast fourth-quarter revenue below Wall Street targets, while Ford Motor Co.'s performance beat estimates.

U.S. GDP data for the second quarterly will be released later in the day and economists expect negative growth.

Investors also awaited a phone call between U.S. President Joe Biden and China's Xi Jinping, which could touch on U.S. tariffs and other points of tension.

The German DAX dipped 0.4 percent, France's CAC 40 was marginally lower while the U.K.'s FTSE 100 was dipped 0.2 percent.

British energy giant Shell rose 1.2 percent after its second-quarter profit jumped more than five-fold.

Franco-Italian chipmaker STMicroelectronics rallied 2.2 percent after its second-quarter revenue exceeded analysts' estimates.

Spanish lender Banco Santander fell nearly 3 percent after missing profit estimates.

Miner Anglo American surged 4.6 percent after backing its FY22 production view.

Telecommunications group BT slumped 5.7 percent after reporting lower pre-tax profit in the first quarter.

French utility EDF was marginally lower after reporting a historic loss for the first half of 2022.

Accor plunged 7.5 percent while Schneider Electric surged 4 percent after reporting their financial results.

German healthcare firm Fresenius plummeted 9 percent after cutting its FY outlook.

Automaker Volkswagen added 2.5 percent after confirming its FY22 view.