European shares up for fifth session; Altice boosted by results

By Atul Prakash

LONDON (Reuters) - European shares advanced for a fifth straight session on Tuesday as companies like Altice continued to report quarterly results that exceeded forecasts.

Shares of the telecoms group Altice surged 11 percent after the company said second-quarter core operating profit grew 2.7 percent, beating forecasts in a Reuters poll, as its Portuguese and U.S. businesses offset a decline in profitability at its subsidiary SFR.

However, SFR also rose 10.5 percent, after the company said a price war in France's mobile market showed signs of easing.

Overall, the second-quarter earnings season has been encouraging so far. Of the 77 percent of companies in the STOXX Europe 600 index that have reported results, 61 percent have met or beaten expectations, according to StarMine data.

The broader STOXX Europe 600 index was up 0.2 percent by 0851 GMT. The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index was also up 0.2 percent.

"European earnings are surprising on the positive side, which is a confirmation of solid economic developments in Europe. However, the second half may not be as good due to uncertainties related to the Brexit and some other political issues in Europe," UniCredit strategist Christian Stocker said.

European banks seem to be stabilising, Stocker said, as a lot of negatives were already priced in. He said he had a "neutral" stance on the sector.

The European banking index rose 0.6 percent and Britain's leading banks index gained 0.7 percent, recouping all the losses in sterling terms it suffered after Britain voted in June to leave the European Union.

Gains on the UK index have largely been driven by HSBC Holdings and Standard Chartered. Both have large operations outside Britain, helping them outperform more domestically focused banks. Lloyds and Royal Bank of Scotland have lost nearly a quarter of their value since the Brexit vote.

Weaker mining shares capped the gains in the broader market. The STOXX Europe 600 Basic Resources index fell 0.5 percent as metals prices of metals fell 0.6 to 1.0 percent. Anglo American, Antofagasta and Glencore lost 0.4 to 0.9 percent.

Also declining were Legal & General, which fell 6 percent on disappointing profits at L&G's investment management and general insurance businesses.

Danish jewelry maker Pandora dropped 3.4 percent, the biggest loss in the pan-European STOXX 600 index, after its second-quarter profits came in below market consensus.

(Editing by Larry King)