Reply #20: European shares climb as earnings, payouts please [View All]

[Ghost Dog]

http://yahoo.reuters.com/news/articlehybrid.aspx?storyID=urn:newsml:reuters.com:20070222:MTFH69015_2007-02-22_11-52-45_L08435636&type=comktNews&rpc=44

LONDON, Feb 22 (Reuters) - European shares rose strongly by midday on Thursday as a robust set of company results reassured investors a day after interest rate worries threatened to crimp a bull run in stock markets.

At 1128 GMT, the FTSEurofirst 300 index <.FTEU3> of top European shares was up 0.5 percent after a fall on Wednesday brought about by higher-than-expected U.S. inflation figures that raised the prospect of interest rate increases.

German stocks led the way, with the DAX <.GDAXI> rising nearly 0.7 percent on gains at chemical maker BASF (BASF.DE: Quote, Profile , Research) and insurer Allianz (ALVG.DE: Quote, Profile , Research), which both reported strong results and proposed chunky dividend increases.

BASF rose 5.7 percent and hit a record high, and Allianz climbed 4.8 percent.

Other gainers included Allianz's French rival AXA, which put on 2.8 percent after a profit surge, and British energy firm Centrica (CNA.L: Quote, Profile , Research), after strong results.

Nestle rose 2.6 percent after the world's largest food group topped its own sales growth target and widened profit margins in 2006.

"The underlying theme in Europe is strong results," said Bernd Meyer, a European strategist at Deutsche Bank.

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