(Reuters) – European shares edged higher on Thursday, still on track to end the week flat, as investors kept close watch on a barrage of earnings reports from companies for clues on the pace of business recovery.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index was 0.1% higher in early trading, with most of its sectors trading in the positive territory.
AstraZeneca rose 1.3% after the COVID-19 vaccine developer beat quarterly product sales estimates and forecast 2021 revenue growth.
European healthcare stocks were up 0.2%.
Danone rose 2.8% after investment company Artisan Partners demanded corporate governance and strategic changes, including separation of the French food group’s chairman and chief executive officer roles.
Germany’s Commerzbank fell 2.9% as the lender said its loss deepened in the fourth quarter.
(Reporting by Shreyashi Sanyal in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta)
