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Oct 31 (Reuters) - European shares rose on Thursday after
the U.S. Federal Reserve cut interest rates, but a slump in auto
and energy stocks kept gains in check as investors digested a
fresh batch of earnings.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index rose 0.3% at
0820GMT led by gains in Milan's FTSE MIB but London's
FTSE 100 lagged.
The U.S. federal reserve cut interest rates as expected but
also signaled there would be no further reductions unless the
health of the economy took an unhealthy turn.
The tech sector got a boost from a near 9% rise in
shares of Dutch semiconductor supplier ASM International
after it forecast a rise in quarterly sales for the
fourth quarter.
Also lifting the mood was an upbeat outlook from iPhone
maker Apple and an assessment from the world's largest
memory chipmaker, Samsung, that demand for its chips
would pick up next year.
Shares in Fiat Chrysler jumped 10% and Peugeot
owner PSA dropped 9% after the two companies reached a
deal to create the world's fourth-largest automaker. PSA had
risen nearly 5% in the last three sessions in anticipation of
the deal.
The oil and gas sector led losses, dragged lower by
shares of energy heavyweight Royal Dutch Shell, down
3%, after the company warned that slowing economic conditions
could hit its $25 billion share buyback program.
(Reporting by Agamoni Ghosh and Lisa Pauline Mattackal; editing
by Patrick Graham)
