European shares near record high following robust earnings; BoE rate decision awaited

Astrazeneca Pharma India

06/02/2025 08:03

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       Feb 6 (Reuters) - European shares hovered near a record
high on Thursday, buoyed by a raft of upbeat earnings, including
drugmaker AstraZeneca, and ahead of the Bank of England's
monetary policy verdict which is likely to result in an interest
rate cut.
    The pan-European STOXX 600 index  .STOXX  was up 0.5% as of
0813 GMT, trading near a record high last hit on January 31.
    Heavyweight healthcare sub-index  .SXDP  jumped 0.8%, lifted
by a 3.2% rise in AstraZeneca  AZN.L , which forecast its 2025
sales above analysts' expectations after the drugmaker's
fourth-quarter revenue beat estimates.
    The earnings also boosted Britain's benchmark FTSE 100
 .FTSE , which rose 0.8%.
    Basic Resources  .SXPP  was the top winning sector, adding
2% after Europe's largest copper producer Aurubis  NAFG.DE 
reported first-quarter pretax profit above market expectations.
    All eyes were on the BoE that is expected to bring the key
rate down to 4.5% from 4.75% in a bid to boost Britain's
sluggish economy amid still-strong inflation pressures.
    On the data front, HCOB's January Construction PMI and
retail sales figures for the euro zone are scheduled for later
in the day.
    In other stocks, Maersk  MAERSKb.CO  rose 7.5% after it
reported fourth-quarter profit above forecasts.


 (Reporting by Nikhil Sharma in Bengaluru; Editing by Mrigank
Dhaniwala)
 ((Nikhil.Sharma@thomsonreuters.com;))