By Joao Manuel Vicente Mauricio and Pranav Kashyap
(Reuters) -Europe's main stock index edged up on Thursday, buoyed by a rally in energy and tech stocks that ended its longest losing streak in more than two months, while geopolitical tensions underpinned demand for safe-haven assets.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index was up 0.5%, snapping its four-day losing streak.
Uncertainties around the escalating Ukraine-Russia conflict drove up oil prices, leading to gains in the energy sector that ticked 1.3% higher.
Ukraine said Russia fired what appeared to be an intercontinental ballistic missile at the city of Dnipro on Thursday.
Defence stocks rose 1.5%.
Assets perceived as safe havens have been on the rise, with gold, the Swiss franc and the U.S. dollar edging up on the day. [GOL/] [FRX/]
A 1.6% gain in insurers also provided support. It was boosted by a 3.1% rise in Zurich Insurance after the company's upbeat three-year targets, and a 6.8% rise in Poland's PZU (WA:PZU) following third-quarter results.
"We're not seeing those geopolitical concerns really being reflected in the stock market. We saw a little bit of nerves, which is limiting gains, rather than creating a big risk-off mood in the market," said Fiona Cincotta, senior market analyst at City Index.
Despite hitting record highs earlier this year, the STOXX 600 has sharply fallen behind its U.S. counterpart S&P 500 in 2024, also dented by likely domestic impacts of Donald Trump's U.S. presidential victory, concerns over Chinese spending and the euro zone's economic woes.
While an ECB policymaker said tariff hikes under Trump do not shift Europe's inflation outlook, a Federal Reserve official noted it was too early to start assessing the election impact on monetary policy.
Separately, Euro zone consumer confidence fell by 1.2 points to -13.7 in November from October.
European tech stocks ASML (AS:ASML) and SAP reversed early losses and gained more than 2% each, with the world's largest company by market value, Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA), forecasting fourth quarter revenue above estimates.
"There is still optimism surrounding the sector … It's not that we've seen anything really disastrous," Cincotta said.
The AI chip leader's shares were down 0.8% in U.S. trading.
Soitec (EPA:SOIT) jumped 7.5% after the French semiconductor materials supplier's half-year results, limiting the tech sector's losses.
CTS (NYSE:CTS) Eventim slumped 8.1% following the German ticketing group's nine-month results, while JD Sports Fashion (LON:JD) slid 15.5% after the sportswear retailer warned that its annual profit would come in at the low end of its guided range.
Halma (LON:HLMA) was up 5.7%, as the health and safety device maker reported its half-year results.
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