European equities advanced for a third straight session to hit a two-week high on Wednesday as reassuring results from Goldman Sachs and Intel boosted banking and tech shares, while oils tracked crude higher.
At 1128 GMT, the FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares was up 1.6 percent at 853.82 points after rising as high as 856.20, the highest level since July 2.
The benchmark index, which slumped 45 percent in 2008 due to the credit crisis, rose 1.2 percent in the previous session and has gained 32 percent since hitting a record low on early March.
Financial stocks were among the top gainers, with HSBC, Barclays, Lloyds Banking Group, Royal Bank of Scotland, Societe Generale and KBC Groep jumping 3.3-7.4 percent.
"The market is prepared to shake off weak economic data and preferring to focus on consensus breaking results and upbeat outlook form corporates," said Henk Potts, equity strategist at Barclays Stockbrokers.
"There are some longer term factors to take into account, but certainly in the short term the direction of the markets will be determined by the percentage of companies that either meet or exceed analysts' expectations."
Sentiment improved after Goldman Sachs pleased investors on Tuesday with better-than-expected results.Intel Corp's quarterly results and outlook also trumped analyst forecasts on better-than-expected consumer demand for PCs.
However, some analysts advised caution. Marie-Pierre Peillon, head of equity and credit research at Groupama Asset Management, said that Goldman's strong results are not necessarily a preview of what to expect from all the banks, said
"We're in the process of making the distinction between the winners and the losers. Goldman is one of the winners, but other banks are still struggling," she said.
Economic data also highlighted difficult conditions. British unemployment hit its highest rate since January 1997 in the three months to May, although the number of people claiming jobless benefit rose by much less than expected last month.
TECH, COMMODITIES JUMP
Technology stocks also gained ground, with the DJ STOXX European technology index rising 3.6 percent. Nokia climbed 5 percent, Infineon advanced 7.3 percent and STMicroelectronics put on 6.8 percent.
Alcatel-Lucent surged 9.6 percent, while Dutch chip equipment maker ASML was up 3.4 percent after it reported an upsurge in orders for its technology.
Commodity shares were also in demand as crude oil prices jumped 1.8 percent to trade above $60 a barrel, while copper, aluminium, nickel and zinc rose 2.8-3.6 percent.
Among energy equities, BP, Royal Dutch Shell, BG Group, Tullow Oil, Repsol, Total and StatoilHydro added 1.2-5.4 percent.
While among miners, BHP Billiton, Anglo American, Antofagasta, Rio Tinto, Xstrata and Eurasian Natural Resources rose 1.5-5.4 percent.
So far this year, the DJ STOXX basic resources index is up 36 percent, the banking index is up 21 percent and the tech index is up 10 percent.
Investors awaited more earnings from global companies due later this week, with Google, IBM, JPMorgan reporting on Thursday, and Bank of America, Citigroup and General Electric reporting on Friday.
Across Europe, the FTSE 100 index, Germany's DAX and France's CAC 40 were up 1.7-1.8 percent.
