European shares rose yesterday, boosted by some strong earnings updates and a rising tech sector after results from Apple exceeded weak expectations.

Shares in AMS, which provides the facial recognition technology used in Apple's iPhones, jumped seven per cent after Apple surprised the market with solid iPhone X sales, confounding fears of a much weaker performance.

Apple shares were up four per cent. Other chipmakers STMicroelectronics, Infineon , BE Semiconductor and ASML also posted sharp gains after the tech giant's results helped sentiment.

Europe’s tech sector rose 1.2 per cent to a six-week high. It helped the pan-European STOXX 600 end up 0.7 per cent at its highest level since February 5, little affected by data showing eurozone economic growth slowed as expected at the start of 2018.

A drop in the euro provided support, helping the exporter-heavy DAX index outperfrom with a rise of 1.5 per cent, while Italy’s FTSE MIB rose 1.2 per cent to its highest since October 2009, as government debt rose on dimming prospects of a snap election.

Mining stocks jumped 2.8 per cent, providing the bedrock for Europe’s gains as copper prices recovered on strong China factory data.

Broadly strong earnings have been the main engine of the European index in recent weeks. Thomson Reuters data showed so far earnings growth for the eurozone MSCI EMU index was down 1.3 per cent for the first quarter. MSCI Europe companies have reported 0.5 per cent growth.

Earnings for the Europe-wide index have delivered a 1.2 per cent surprise thus far, meaning results have outperformed analyst expectations. Deutsche Bank strategists said beats were set to increase.

“The gross beat ratio, at 44 per cent, is low, but our gross beats model – based on moves in the euro, commodities and global macro-surprises – suggests this is set to pick up in the remainder of the season,” wrote Deutsche Bank’s equity strategy team.

"Tech, consumer staples and energy have seen the strongest earnings per share (EPS) growth for the companies that have reported so far," they added, saying financials and industrials had been weakest.

British satellite firm Inmarsat led the pack, jumping 8.1 per cent after reporting strong first-quarter revenue. Sweden’s Lundin Petroleum shares rose 4.3 per cent after it became the latest EU oil company to beat expectations.

For letdowns, Paddy Power Betfair was among the index’s worst-performers, down four per cent after a first-quarter drop. The bookmaker announced a £500m share buyback programme.