European shares hit new 14-month high, positive earnings boost

LONDON (Reuters) - European shares climbed to a new 14-month high on Wednesday, supported by well-received earnings updates from companies such as Lloyds, Telefonica Deutschland and Scor.

The pan-European STOXX 600 index was up 0.5 percent at 375.19 points by 0831 GMT after setting an intra-day high of 375.42 points, the highest level since early December 2015. Germany's DAX was up 0.4 percent after hitting levels not seen since April 2015.

Telefonica Deutschland was one of the best-performing stocks, up 5.8 percent after it reported better-than-predicted core profit for the fourth quarter and raised its target for synergies from its acquisition of E-Plus.

ThyssenKrupp was also a top gainer, up 5.4 percent after the German industrials and steel company said it had sold its Brazilian steel mill to Ternium, ending five years of unsuccessful efforts by the German company to exit Latin America's largest economy.

Banking and insurance stocks were the top-performing European sectors, led by Lloyds and Scor.

Lloyds, the second largest British listed bank to post earnings this week, was a top gainer, up 3.5 percent after impressing investors with profits rising to a ten-year high.

Shares in French insurance company Scor hit a 14-month high, up 5.6 percent after it raised its dividend and said it planned share buybacks on the back of a 5.4 percent increase in premiums.

Indivior was an outlier. The British pharmaceuticals company was down 7.8 percent, the top European faller, after its results.

(Reporting by Helen Reid)