European shares opened more than 1 percent higher on Thursday, buoyed by strong performances among technology stocks, while investors awaited the European Central Bank’s (ECB) rate decision due later in the day.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index was up 1.2 percent at 514.17 points.
Technology stocks chimed with a rally in their Asian peers, and jumped 2.6 percent.
The ECB will meet at 1215 GMT on Thursday, where it is widely expected to cut interest rates by 25 basis points.
Shares of Roche fell 4.5 percent after the Swiss drugmaker said the promising results of an early-stage trial of its experimental weight-loss pill were based on just six patients.
Source: Qatar News Agency