European shares inch up ahead of ECB as earnings remain in focus

Oct 29 (Reuters) - European shares inched up on Thursday ahead of the European Central Bank's policy meeting, while investors assessed a fresh batch of upbeat earnings reports.

The pan-European STOXX 600 index was up 0.11% at 644.80 points by 0806 GMT.

The ECB is widely expected to keep interest rates steady at 2.5% but the spotlight will be on President Christine Lagarde's comments on the French bond crisis and Lagarde's own future.

Corporate results, which have been the major driver of market sentiment recently, also remained in focus.

Shell announced above-expectation net profit of $10.81 billion in the third quarter, its highest since 2022, and boosted its buybacks, sending the shares of the oil major 2.6% higher.

The energy sector climbed 1%, while London's FTSE 100 rose 0.3%.

Airbus shares added 3.2% after maintaining full-year forecasts and production plans and reporting mixed third-quarter earnings.

The technology sector dropped 0.7%, mirroring global weakness after investors digested earnings from Alphabet, whose shares slumped 10.8% in US premarket trading following a revenue miss and increasing cash burn to fund AI infrastructure.

(Reporting by Avinash P in Bengaluru; Editing by Mrigank Dhaniwala)