(Reuters) – European shares jumped to a record high on Thursday, led by food and beverages stocks on Nestle’s strong earnings, amid broader market optimism over the U.S.’ plans to begin talks with Russia to end the nearly three-year-long war in Ukraine.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index was up 0.5%, as of 0813 GMT, on track to hit a new intraday record for the sixth straight session.
Meanwhile, the German benchmark index and EURO STOXX index were also at all-time highs, rising 1% and 0.9%, respectively, in early trades. France’s CAC 40, up 1%, was trading at its highest level since May.
U.S. President Donald Trump said Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy expressed a desire for peace in separate phone calls with him on Wednesday.
The euro jumped 0.35% to $1.0419, after Trump ordered top U.S. officials to begin peace talks.
Nestle rose 6.5% after the maker of Nescafe coffee reported slightly better-than-expected annual sales growth. The stock boosted the food and beverages index by 2.7%.
Automobiles also jumped 2.6%, lifted by 5.3% jump in French tyre maker Michelin’s full-year results.
Siemens jumped 5.4% after the engineering group reported better than expected profit for its latest quarter.
(Reporting by Nikhil Sharma; Editing by Rashmi Aich)
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