European shares jump on boost from luxury goods, chipmakers

European shares jumped on Thursday as luxury heavyweights got a boost from a positive earnings update from Richemont and chipmakers rose after Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co reported record quarterly profit.

The pan-European STOXX 600 index was up 0.6 percent by 0807 GMT, having posted its biggest daily gain in four months on Wednesday.

The STOXX 600 was last at its highest since mid-December, while Germany’s DAX rose 0.4 percent to an all-time high, according to Reuters.

Richemont shares jumped 15 percent after the Cartier jewelry brand beat market expectations for third-quarter sales, a positive sign for the luxury goods sector during the all-important holiday season.

Other luxury goods companies including LVMH and Hermes rose 7.4 percent and 4.7 percent respectively.