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* STOXX 600 on course for weekly gains
* Chip stocks boosted by TSMC results
* Publicis up on outlook hike
(New throughout, updates prices, market activity and comments
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By Sruthi Shankar and Susan Mathew
Oct 14 (Reuters) - European stocks rose on Thursday, hitting
the highest in more than two weeks as investors bet a steady
economic recovery from the pandemic-induced slump will support
corporate earnings despite signs of elevated inflation.
Mining shares jumped 3.3%, their biggest daily gain
in three months, technology stocks rallied again and the
pan-European STOXX 600 index rose 1.2%.
European chipmakers, including ASML, Infineon
and BE Semiconductor, were among the top
gainers in the tech sector after Taiwan chip giant TSMC
posted a 13.8% jump in third-quarter profit due to
booming demand for semiconductors.
China's factory gate inflation rose in September to a record
high on soaring commodity prices. Many still hope
inflation will be transitory, but supply chain disruptions, a
global energy crisis and labour shortages have fuelled concerns
that central banks could raise interest rates sooner,
accelerating plans for a gradual exit from the pandemic-era
stimulus.
"Equity markets appear to have shaken off their caution of
recent weeks," said Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at IG.
Upbeat results from Wall Street banks, big European names
such as LVMH and SAP, as well as TSMC reinforced the view of a
global economy still moving in the right direction, albeit at a
slower place, he said.
"Having dropped back in an orderly fashion into earnings
season, it seems stock markets have now reached a level at which
investors are once again happy about buying the dip..."
Optimism around the earnings has seen the STOXX 600 narrow
the gap to its all-time highs to 2%.
Analysts expect third-quarter profit for STOXX 600 companies
to climb 46.7% from a year ago, according to Refinitiv IBES
data, with energy companies enjoying the biggest revisions.
Among individual stocks, French advertising group Publicis
gained 2.7% after it raised its outlook for 2021 as a
global shift towards digital media and e-commence helped
third-quarter organic growth exceed market expectations. British
rival WPP rose 0.5%.
Danish food ingredients maker Chr Hansen dropped
6.7% after fourth-quarter profit cam in below estimates.
SAP gained 2.9%, the biggest boost to the tech
sector, after the German software firm's shares jumped nearly 4%
in the previous session following a strong quarterly report.
The biggest drag on the STOXX 600 was AstraZeneca,
down 0.5%. Europe's drug regulator said it had started a
real-time review of the drugmaker's antibody-based COVID-19
therapy.
(Reporting by Sruthi Shankar in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj
Kalluvila, Amy Caren Daniel and David Gregorio)
