Hopes for healthy profit growth among energy and technology firms helped European stocks end on a happy note Thursday, while consumer electronics giant Philips reinforced sentiment ahead of next week's results.
Solid results from US conglomerate and Dow industrial index component General Electric were also supportive as the US earnings season moves into high gear with a slew of top US banks and technology firms due to report next week.
Traders marked up oil stocks as crude oil prices flirted with $33 a barrel in London on strong US demand and escalating violence in Iraq, which stoked worries about supply disruption.
France's Total and Spain's Repsol inched up 1.2 and 1.7 per cent each.
Expectations of strong phone sales this year at Samsung Electronics helped telecoms equipment makers Nokia and Alcatel up around one per cent.
Not to be outdone, chip maker Infineon added two per cent as sales at the world's largest contract maker of microchips, Taiwan's TSMC, jumped 44 per cent in March from a year ago.
Ahead of results on Tuesday, Philips, which owns one-fifth of TSMC, added 1.6 per cent as investors bet on a richer first quarter.
Eurotop 300 index ended up 0.5 per cent at 1,014.8 points, four points above last week's close, but down from the session high around 1,019 points. Nearly three shares rose for each two that fell, though dealings were moderate.
The narrower DJ Euro Stoxx 50 index rose 0.3 per cent to 2,858.9 points.
European and US stock markets were closed yesterday for the Easter break. Europe is also shut on Monday.
Shares have climbed this week in anticipation of good earnings news and a growing belief - confirmed by US jobs data - that the global economic recovery was on course.
On Wall Street, the Dow Jones industrial average was trading up 0.1 per cent at 10,492.3 points, while the tech-laden Nasdaq Composite gained 0.5 per cent at 2,061.1 points.
New US weekly jobless claims fell to the lowest in more than three years and when coupled with last Friday's leap in March non-farm payrolls point to steady job creation to safeguard consumer sentiment, a cornerstone of recovery.
"Fears that economic growth was slowing have faded," said Philippe Gijsels, senior equity strategist at Fortis Global Markets. "There is scope for earnings to surprise on the upside and that will be a catalyst going forward."
Gijsels said risks included the trouble in Iraq and global security fears. "But rising speculative activity in small-caps is healthy because it means investors are more willing to take risks."
Across Europe, Paris's CAC tacked on 0.2 per cent, Frankfurt's DAX added 0.3 percent and Zurich's SMI rose 0.6 per cent.