STMicroelectronics rises on Q4 sales beat
Nokia gains on earnings beat, strong forecast
Investors await U.S. fourthquarter GDP data

Jan 26 Reuters European shares marched higher on Thursday as upbeat quarterly results from STMicroelectronics, Sabadell and Nokia eased some worries about the impact of stubborn inflation and slowing economic growth on corporate profit.

The panEuropean STOXX 600 rose 0.4 in morning trade, with retail and financial services and banking stocks leading the gains.

Shares of STMicroelectronics jumped 5.6 after the chipmaker reported biggerthanexpected quarterly sales.

Sabadell soared 8.8 as the Spanish lender announced a share buyback and an upbeat fullyear outlook, while Finnish telecom equipment maker Nokia rose 4.4 after the company beat quarterly operating profit expectations and forecast higher 2023 sales.

European companies seem to be more resilient than expected, said Susannah Streeter, senior investment and markets analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown.

Concerns of a deeper recession have been lifted somewhat, which means slightly more positive outlook for companies concentrated in the European market. However, there is still clearly pockets of weakness around.

Investors also looked forward to the U.S. fourthquarter Gross Domestic Product GDP data due later in the day that is likely to show the world39;s largest economy maintained a strong pace of growth, but momentum appears to have slowed considerably towards the yearend due to…