European stocks hit a two-week high at the open on Thursday, after Wall Street rose overnight, weighed down by an unexpected increase in earnings at Swedish retail giant H&M and dispelled concerns about pressures in the banking sector.
By 07:08 GMT, the pan-European STOXX 600 index was up 0.6%, hitting the highest level since March 13 following a rally in major U.S. stock indexes on Wednesday.
H&M jumped 7.3 percent after the world's second-largest fashion retailer posted an unexpected operating profit for the December-February period, but warned that cold weather hampered overall spring sales.
The retail sub-index rose 1.8%. The European banking sector index rose 0.4% to a one-week high as investor confidence was boosted by the sale of collapsed Silicon Valley Bank SVB assets and the acquisition of Credit Suisse.
The real estate sector index gained 2.3%, extending gains after falling to a five-month low this week.
Japan's Nikkei closed lower on Thursday after gains for 3 consecutive sessions (Shutterstock)
Japanese stocks fall
Japan's Nikkei closed lower on Thursday after 3 consecutive sessions of gains, while losses were limited as technology stocks rallied on Wall Street overnight.
The Nikkei fell 0.36% to close at 27782,93.0 points, and the broader Topix index fell 61.1983% to 32,<>.<> points.
All but 33 of the TSE's 5 industrial sub-indices fell, with oil refiners leading the losses, down 2.89%.
U.S. stocks rose overnight, with all three major indexes up at least 1 percent, as upbeat expectations from Micron Technology and others eased some concerns about the economy.