LONDON, Feb 16: European stock markets rose on Thursday, lifted by a bumper set of earnings reports and overnight gains from Wall Street, dealers said. London’s FTSE 100 index of leading shares won 0.16 per cent to 5,800.90 points, Frankfurt’s DAX 30 added 0.09 per cent to 5,769.76 points and in Paris the CAC 40 gained 0.29 per cent to 4,948.55 points.

The DJ Euro Stoxx 50 index of leading eurozone shares increased by 0.26 per cent to 3,739.46 points.

The euro stood at 1.1869 dollars.

US stocks had extended their gains on Wednesday as oil prices tumbled to a two-month low and new Federal Reserve chief Ben Bernanke’s comments reassured investors on the economy and inflation.

Japanese share prices ended in positive territory on Thursday as investors took their cue from buoyant US markets, dealers said.

In trading in Zurich on Thursday, the share price of ABB shot up 3.25 per cent to 14.3 Swiss francs after the Swiss-Swedish engineering giant reported that net profit last year reached $735.0 million (627.0 million euros), marking a recovery from several years of losses.

The Swiss Market Index added 0.83 per cent to 7,862.09 points.

In Paris, the price of shares in Societe Generale rose by 2.64 per cent to 116.5 euros after the French banking group had said that 2005 had been the best year in its history.

Annual net profit rose 35.5 per cent to 4.446 billion euros (5.279 billion dollars) compared with 2004.

Societe Generale said its earnings were a result of a favourable economic and financial environment.

In trading in London, Diageo shares fizzed 1.17 per cent higher to 865 pence after the British drinks giant posted a 20-per cent jump in net profit to 1.205 billion pounds (1.762 billion euros, 2.093 billion dollars) during the six months to December 31, 2005, compared with the previous year’s reading.

In Wednesday’s US trading the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.28 per cent to close at 11,058.97 points after briefly hitting a four and a half-year high of 11,068.74.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite climbed 0.63 per cent to 2,276.43 points and the broad-market Standard and Poor’s 500 index added 0.35 per cent to 1,280.00.

Sentiment won a boost from a sharp drop in crude oil futures for a second straight day. New York’s main contract tumbled 1.92 dollars to close at 57.65 dollars, the lowest since December 19.

Meanwhile Bernanke, in his first congressional testimony as Fed chairman, told lawmakers more rate hikes may be needed as the threat of higher inflation persists. But he argued that despite some obstacles, the economic expansion remains on track.

Across in Asia on Thursday, the Tokyo Stock Exchange’s benchmark Nikkei-225 index closed 0.70 per cent higher at 16,043.67 points. Hong Kong’s key Hang Seng index finished up 0.18 per cent at 15,450.88 points.—AFP