European shares edge higher

European shares edged higher at midday on Thursday, with drugmakers rising after sales at Roche beat forecasts, though gains were capped by weaker mining stocks.
At 1057 GMT, the pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index of top shares was up 0.2 percent at 1,107.14 points, having moved in and out of positive territory.
The index hit an 18-month high earlier in the session, and is up more than 71 percent from its all-time low of March 2009. It is on track to post its seventh straight week of gains.
"There's been a pause for breath, with some stocks having been overbought in the rally," said Colin McLean, managing director at fund manager SVM, in Edinburgh. "There's still some concern about Greece, and southern Europe."
The pharmaceuticals sector rose, led by Swiss drugmaker Roche, up 2 percent after it beat first-quarter sales forecasts and confirmed its full-year outlook.
Within the sector, Shire, Novartis, Sanofi-Aventis, AstraZeneca and Novo Nordisk were up between 0.3 and 0.9 percent.
The euro slipped against the dollar on Thursday as a slight widening in Greek/German bond yield spreads highlighted persistent concerns about Greece's debt problems.
Miners fell, as copper prices slipped back.
Anglo American, BHP Billiton, Fresnillo, Rio Tinto and Xstrata fell between 0.9 and 1.3 percent.
However, energy companies gained as crude prices stayed above $85 a barrel after U.S. inventories fell. A broadly positive note by Credit Suisse on the integrated oil and gas sector also helped lift sentiment. BP, Statoil and Total rose between 0.4 and 0.7 percent.
Unexpectedly high year-on-year growth of 11.9 percent for China in the first quarter as well as upbeat corporate earnings from JPMorgan and rising retail sales in the United States on Wednesday helped boost confidence in the pace of economic recovery.
Across Europe, Britain's FTSE 100 was flat, Germany's DAX and France's CAC 40 were both down 0.1 percent.
A.P. MOLLER-MAERSK RISES
Among individual shares, A.P. Moller-Maersk, the world's No.1 container shipping line, rose 2.9 percent, boosted by China's growth numbers.
Deutsche Post gained 2.6 percent after U.S. peer United Parcel Service said its first-quarter earnings per share would be much higher than it had expected and raised its outlook for the year.
Cruise operator Carnival added 1.7 percent, making it the top FTSE 100 gainer after Morgan Stanley lifted the company's price target and kept its "overweight" rating.
U.S. economic figures due before Wall Street opens include the weekly jobless claims.
Investors will also watch further corporate results, with Google set to release quarterly earnings after U.S. markets close on Thursday. General Electric and Bank of America Corp are expected to report first-quarter figures on Friday.