European shares hovered near a record high on Thursday, buoyed by a raft of upbeat earnings, including drugmaker AstraZeneca, and ahead of the Bank of England's monetary policy verdict which is likely to result in an interest rate cut.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index was up 0.5% as of 0813 GMT, trading near a record high last hit on January 31.
Heavyweight healthcare sub-index jumped 0.8%, lifted by a 3.2% rise in AstraZeneca, which forecast its 2025 sales above analysts' expectations after the drugmaker's fourth-quarter revenue beat estimates.
The earnings also boosted Britain's benchmark FTSE 100, which rose 0.8%.
Basic Resources was the top winning sector, adding 2% after Europe's largest copper producer Aurubis reported first-quarter pretax profit above market expectations.
All eyes were on the BoE that is expected to bring the key rate down to 4.5% from 4.75% in a bid to boost Britain's sluggish economy amid still-strong inflation pressures.
On the data front, HCOB's January Construction PMI and retail sales figures for the euro zone are scheduled for later in the day.
In other stocks, Maersk rose 7.5% after it reported fourth-quarter profit above forecasts.
(Reporting by Nikhil Sharma in Bengaluru; Editing by Mrigank Dhaniwala)
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