LONDON: Europe's main stock markets advanced at the start of trading on Wednesday, lifted by solid gains elsewhere, strong results from Apple and rising hopes of a Greek debt deal, analysts said.
London's FTSE 100 benchmark index of leading shares increased 0.28 percent to 5,768.03 points, Frankfurt's DAX 30 climbed 0.43 percent to 6,448.87 points and the Paris CAC 40 won 0.45 percent to 3,337.73 points.
British investors were meanwhile awaiting key economic growth data. The Office for National Statistics will publish the first official estimate of fourth-quarter gross domestic product (GDP) at 0930 GMT.
Asian equities rose Wednesday following the upbeat earnings news from Apple and on hopes that Greece would agree on a debt-reduction deal with creditors, although worries persisted over Europe's ongoing fiscal woes.
Apple said late Tuesday its net profit more than doubled in the period from October to December, to a record $13.06 billion, driven by strong sales of iPhones, iPads and Macintosh computers.
Markets were also underpinned by hopes that Greece will strike an agreement with creditors at this weekend's European Union leaders summit, despite an overnight standoff on the troubled country's debt-reduction talks.
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