Tech earnings lead STOXX 600 to the highest level in a week

European stocks rose on Tuesday to their highest levels in more than a week, driven by gains in the technology sector after strong corporate profits boosted dealer confidence, while the Financial Times index in Britain jumped to its highest level ever.

By 0712 GMT, the European STOXX 600 index rose 0.6%, supported by a jump of about two percent for technology company stocks.

According to Reuters, the index benefited from a 4.6% rise in SAP shares after the German company announced a 24% increase in cloud business revenues in the first quarter, amounting to 3.93 billion euros ($4.19 billion), supported by demand for enterprise resource planning programs.

Novartis shares rose 4.6 percent as the Swiss pharmaceutical company raised its expectations for the full year after announcing first-quarter results that exceeded expectations.

On the other hand, Randstad, the world’s largest recruitment agency, announced disappointing quarterly core profits, which led to the Dutch company’s shares falling 6.7% to the bottom of the STOXX 600 index.

Markets are awaiting the release of Eurozone manufacturing PMI data for April, which could shed light on the bloc’s economic health.

On the other hand, the British Financial Times index, which focuses on exporters, rose 0.6% to record its highest level ever at 8,071.96 points.