Investors are betting on European earnings !

Profits continued to be the main drivers of European equities, and Kering shares of luxury goods jumped after Gucci's sales rebounded, with little change on the index as investors awaited the ECB meeting.

The Stoxx 600 European index was little changed, while the leading index of the euro area rose 0.2 percent.

France's CAC 40 gained 0.2 percent, boosted by strong gains from Cairng.

The euro zone's banking sector index rose 0.5 percent to add to gains from the previous session as investors awaited the ECB meeting on Thursday to see the next stimulus for financial sector stocks that benefit from a high interest rate environment.

Pulpoint, the maker of pens and cores, fell 10.6 percent to a four-year low after nine-month sales figures were lower than expected. The stock suffered heavy losses after cutting sales forecasts at the end of September. Finnish industrial shares fell 5.5 percent after the results fell below expectations.

Kering led luxury stocks up after the company announced a rise in sales again with better-than-expected performance from the Gucci brand, pushing the stock up 6.2 percent at the opening. Shares in LFMH rose 0.6 percent. Retail and consumer goods performed better than the market and rose 0.4 to 0.7 percent.

Source
annahar