Luxury goods stocks lead the European Stoxx 600 index to gains

European stocks rose on Thursday, boosted by gains in luxury stocks after a report showed fashion firm LVMH posted strong first-quarter sales and on hopes the Federal Reserve will halt its tightening cycle after lower-than-expected inflation data.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 index was up 0.3% by 0710 GMT.

The Stoxx 50 blue-chip index rose 0.4 percent, after hitting a 22-year high on Wednesday.

LVMH, the world’s largest luxury company, jumped 4.5% after announcing a 17% increase in first-quarter sales that topped previous estimates as business in China rebounded sharply.

Shares of other companies such as Swiss luxury goods Richemont rose 3.8 percent and France’s Hermes rose 2.9 percent.

In Britain, there was little change in the Financial Times 100 index after data showed that the British economy failed to achieve growth as expected in February, as public sector workers’ strikes affected production.