Equities in Europe rose in early trade Thursday, with a slew of key earnings helping sentiment, after a positive close for stocks in the United States overnight.
At the time of writing, Britain's FTSE, France's CAC and Germany's DAX climbed 1% to 1.4%.
A heavy earnings calendar remained in focus as investors looked for cues to the state of the economy in the region: Insurers ING and AXA surged 6.1% and 3.9% following their quarterly earnings.
Consumer giant Unilever gained was up 4.4% after posting its results while Lloyds rose 3%.
Banking shares, which took a hit during the recent period of softness in equities, edged up: Barclays, BNP Paribas, Credit Agricole and Societe Generale advanced between 1.8% and 2.5%.
In news-driven movers, Ferrexpro added 4.5% following a broker upgrade.