(For a live blog on European stocks, type LIVE/ in an Eikon
news window)
April 28 (Reuters) - European shares hovered near two-week
highs on Tuesday as a slate of strong earnings reports from
companies, including Novartis and UBS, outweighed a slump in
oil prices and shares of Wirecard.
The pan-European STOXX 600 .STOXX was up 0.1% by 0722 GMT,
after closing at its highest level since mid-April on Monday as
many countries planned to ease coronavirus-induced lockdown
measures.
Europe's oil & gas sector .SXEP shed 0.6% as oil prices
CLc1 LCOc1 sank on concerns about dwindling crude storage
capacity worldwide. O/R
London-based BP BP.L slipped 1.8% as it forecast
significantly lower refining margins in the second quarter and
its first-quarter profits tumbled by two-thirds as the health
crisis hammered oil demand. The biggest drag, however, was German financial services
company Wirecard WDIG.DE , which plunged 21.3% after it
published results of an investigation by auditor KPMG.
Offering some respite to Europe's battered banking sector
.SX7P , UBS UBSG.S gained 4.3% after reporting a 40% rise in
January-March profit. nL5N2CG0L7]
Novartis NOVN.S rose 1% after it confirmed its 2020
targets as the pandemic prompted patients to stock up on their
prescriptions in advance.