European Shares Rise as Apple Records Sharp Growth

By Investors Hub

European shares are mostly higher on Wednesday after Apple reported sharp growth in its services business and CEO Tim Took said U.S.-China trade tensions are easing.

Traders await the start of U.S.-China trade talks later in the day as well as the outcome of a Federal Reserve meeting for further direction.

The French CAC 40 Index is up by 0.7 percent and the U.K.?s FTSE 100 Index is up by 1.9 percent, although the German DAX Index has bucked the uptrend and fallen by 0.4 percent.

French luxury conglomerate LVMH has jumped after reporting record sales and profits for 2018. Gucci owner Kering has also rallied.

IT consulting firm Atos has also moved sharply higher. The company plans to distribute 23.4 percent of shares in its subsidiary Worldline to shareholders.

British American Tobacco have also jumped to extend gains from the previous session as fears over a menthol cigarette crackdown in the U.S. have receded.

Meanwhile, German industrial conglomerate Siemens has fallen after its first quarter net income dropped to 1.01 billion euros from 2.19 billion euros last year.

Drug maker Novartis has also moved to the downside in Switzerland after its core earnings came in below expectations.

In economic news, an index of Eurozone economic sentiment fell by more than expected to a two-year low at the start of 2019, the European Commission said.

German consumer confidence is set to improve in February, defying expectations for a modest easing, survey data from the GfK showed.

French GDP grew 0.3 percent sequentially in the fourth quarter of 2018, the same as in the third quarter, preliminary data revealed. Economists had forecast a 0.2 percent expansion.