European shares edged up on Thursday, with US earnings season helping to boost confidence among investors, and Spain's Banco Santander rising ahead of its results next week. The FTSEurofirst 300 index of top shares rose 0.2 percent to a provisional close of 1,154.92 points after falling to a low of 1,150.12 earlier in the session. Banks to gain included Banco Santander, Intesa SanPaolo and Societe Generale, up between 3.3 and 4.9 percent.
"The market has been pretty resilient, though some of the data has been variable," said Bill Dinning, head of strategy at Aegon Asset Management in Edinburgh. "Corporate earnings season has been pretty good. But there is a lot of complacency - investors began the year feeling good about the trends after a good December. The macro backdrop may give further cause for concern - there is still some fragility, and it will challenge the benign view."
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