BRUSSELS/FRANKFURT/PARIS (dpa-AFX) - European stocks advanced on Thursday after the U.S. Federal Reserve held interest rates steady, as widely expected, despite persistent inflation and dissents from Fed governor Lisa Cook and Cleveland Fed President Beth Hammack.
Investors also digested earnings from tech heavyweights, including Samsung Electronics, Alphabet and Microsoft, and looked ahead to the European Central Bank's interest-rate announcement as well as President Christine Largarde's comments on the French bond crisis later in the day.
In economic releases, the release of U.S. PCE inflation data later in the day could sway the Fed's future decisions.
The pan-European STOXX 600 rose 0.6 percent to 647.92 after ending marginally higher on Wednesday.
The German DAX surged 0.9 percent, France's CAC 40 rallied 1 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 was up half a percent.
Repsol shares advanced 1.7 percent. The Spanish energy group announced a new share buyback program of €950 million after announcing a sharp rise in profits in the third quarter.
French engineering and technology company Technip Energies soared 7 percent after beating Q3 core profit expectations even as revenue missed.
Automaker Renault surged 4.7 percent on reporting a better-than-expected 1.4 percent rise in third-quarter revenue.
Shell rallied 3.3 percent. The British oil and gas giant hiked its quarterly share buyback to $5 billion after nearly doubling its quarterly year-year adjusted earnings and reported record refining margins.
Advertising group WPP rose over 1 percent after logging a year-on-year increase in revenue for the third quarter and confirming its FY26 outlook.
Lender Lloyds Banking tumbled 3.5 percent on muted third-quarter results.
Commodities group Glencore fell nearly 2 percent after maintaining its full-year 2026 production guidance.
German real estate group Vonovia slumped 4.8 percent after lowering its 2028 targets.
Sportswear maker Adidas climbed 2.4 percent after achieving record results in the third quarter of 2026 and increasing its full-year profit outlook.
Henkel added 1.6 percent. The chemicals company raised its group organic sales growth guidance for full-year 2026 after third-quarter results exceeded analyst expectations.
ING fell 3.6 percent. The Dutch lender flagged job cuts and unveiled plans to restructure its wholesale banking unit.
Industrial gases company Air Liquide gained 3 percent after Q3 revenue surpassed estimates.
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