Paris - European shares inched up in early trade on Thursday, adding to their recent sharp rally that has been fuelled by expectations of further stimulus measures from the European Central Bank.
Infineon dropped 1.9 percent after the German auto and industrial chipmaker posted results that slightly missed analyst forecast.
Remy Cointreau surged 6 percent after the French spirits group - whose cognac sales have been hurt by a Chinese government crackdown on ostentatious spending - reported a smaller-than-expected drop in profit.
“The results are better-than-expected, thanks to sales from its liquor and spirits division, as well as better cost control,” a Paris-based trader said.
At 11:00 SA time, the FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares was up 0.2 percent at 1 391.69 points.
The benchmark index has risen 14 percent since a low hit in mid-October, lifted by the prospect of further measures from the ECB including quantitative easing.
On Wednesday, ECB Vice President Vitor Constancio said the bank might decide as early as the first quarter of next year whether to begin buying sovereign bonds, fuelling a rally in European shares.
“Volumes will be very low today with Wall Street closed for Thanksgiving, and the big focus will be on the OPEC meeting,” FXCM analyst Vincent Ganne said.
“There's been intense negotiations between Saudi Arabia, Venezuela and other oil producers, and the outcome of the meeting will have a big impact on markets.”
Shares in oil majors and oil services firms lost ground again on Thursday, as Brent crude fell to a four-year low under $76 (R909) a barrel ahead of the OPEC meeting in Vienna.
Royal Dutch Shell fell 0.7 percent, Total dropped 1 percent and Seadrill shed 4.7 percent.
A number of oil services firms including Seadrill have been forced to scrap their dividend as the sector struggles with the slump in crude prices that has prompted oil majors to slash capital expenditure.
Around Europe, UK's FTSE 100 index was up 0.04 percent and Germany's DAX index up 0.5 percent, gaining ground for the 11th straight session.
Euronext, the market operator of the Paris, Brussels, Amsterdam and Lisbon bourses, said on Thursday data on its cash and derivatives market indices was not being disseminated due to a technical incident. - Reuters