European shares rise for 3rd day; earnings support

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LONDON, April 21 | Thu Apr 21, 2011 3:08am EDT

LONDON, April 21 (Reuters) - European shares advanced for a third straight session to a one-week high on Thursday as strong company results improved sentiment, with technology shares gaining further after Apple (AAPL.O) smashed forecasts.

At 0706 GMT, the FTSEurofirst 300 .FTEU3 index of top European shares was up 0.1 percent at 1,138.73 points after touching 1,140.62, the highest since April 12.

"After a slow start, earnings have improved quite rapidly and results from the companies such as Intel and Apple have certainly boosted investor sentiment," said Keith Bowman, equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown.

"There is some nervousness in the background, particularly in relation to the situation in Japan and what that means for the supply chain, but as of today the markets have concentrated on good corporate results."

Technology shares extended the previous session's sharp gains, supported by forecast-beating results from U.S. firm Apple (AAPL.O). The European sector index .SX8P was up 0.8 percent, while ASML (ASML.AS) rose 2.3 percent. (Reporting by Atul Prakash)

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LONDON, April 21 | Thu Apr 21, 2011 3:08am EDT

LONDON, April 21 (Reuters) - European shares advanced for a third straight session to a one-week high on Thursday as strong company results improved sentiment, with technology shares gaining further after Apple (AAPL.O) smashed forecasts.

At 0706 GMT, the FTSEurofirst 300 .FTEU3 index of top European shares was up 0.1 percent at 1,138.73 points after touching 1,140.62, the highest since April 12.

"After a slow start, earnings have improved quite rapidly and results from the companies such as Intel and Apple have certainly boosted investor sentiment," said Keith Bowman, equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown.

"There is some nervousness in the background, particularly in relation to the situation in Japan and what that means for the supply chain, but as of today the markets have concentrated on good corporate results."

Technology shares extended the previous session's sharp gains, supported by forecast-beating results from U.S. firm Apple (AAPL.O). The European sector index .SX8P was up 0.8 percent, while ASML (ASML.AS) rose 2.3 percent. (Reporting by Atul Prakash)

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