The main European markets opened Thursday's session higher, with major companies releasing their latest financial results.
Before the opening, Unilever announced that its net profit for 2023 was €7.1 billion, down 13.7%. Meanwhile, AstraZeneca said its revenue for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2023 came in at $11.3 billion, up 5% from the same period last year. Credit Agricole, ArcelorMittal as well as Societe Generale SA were among the companies that also reported today.
At 9:00 am CET, the French benchmark CAC 40 added 0.17%, while Kering improved by 3.23%. The same company was leading the gains in the pan-European Euro Stoxx 50, which was climbing by 0.23%.
A minute later, the FTSE 100 rose by 0.11%, as British American Tobacco increased by 4.87%. Finally, the German DAX rose 0.08% at 9:04 am CET, with Sartorius AG being the best performer at the open, up 2.42%.
On the currency front, the euro and the British pound were flat against the dollar at 8:58 am CET, selling for $1.07797 and $1.26279 at the same time.