UPDATE 2-Solid earnings boost European stocks as ECB stands pat

* Nestle boosts STOXX 600 after strong Q1
* Pernod Ricard lifts luxury sector
* ECB stands pat on interest rate
* Credit Suisse slips as Archegos unwind hits Q1

(Updates to close)
By Sruthi Shankar and Susan Mathew
April 22 (Reuters) - European stocks moved towards record
highs on Thursday, following a set of strong company earnings
and as the European Central Bank left policy unchanged as
expected.
Heavyweight Nestle NESN.S rose almost 3% after reporting
its strongest quarterly sales growth in 10 years, while software
group SAP SAPG.DE and French spirits group Pernod Ricard
PERP.PA were among some of the other stocks to surge after
results. Credit Suisse CSGN.S , meanwhile, fell 2.1% after a hit
from the collapse of U.S. investment fund Archegos wiped out
what would have been a stellar trading period, leaving it with a
slightly smaller-than-flagged quarterly pre-tax loss of 757
million Swiss francs. The pan-European STOXX 600 index .STOXX rose 0.7%,
extending gains for a second day, after fears of a new wave of
COVID-19 cases pushed European markets to their worst day in
2021 on Tuesday.
While global investors remain nervous about a resurgent
coronavirus crisis in Asia and stretched valuations in parts of
U.S. equities, European stocks have enjoyed strong gains this
year as COVID-19 vaccination drive and stimulus programmes lift
hopes of a strong economic rebound.
The ECB's decision to keep rates unchanged as widely
expected sets the stage for a battle at the June 10 meeting,
when policymakers have to decide whether to slow bond buying,
even if that means allowing borrowing costs to drift higher.
"If the more optimistic projections for the vaccination
rollout really materialise... the next batch of staff
projections (in June) could show an upward revision to the
growth forecasts and a confirmation of the economic recovery in
the second half of the year," said Carsten Brzeski, global head
of macro at ING.
Shares of renewable energy companies such as Vestas VWS.CO
and Siemens Gamesa SGREN.MC surged, with Vestas jumping 10%
for its best day in a month, after the Biden administration on
Thursday pledged at a U.S. climate summit to slash U.S.
greenhouse gas emissions in half by 2030. Birkin bag maker Hermes HRMS.PA was up 2.1% as strong
growth in Asia powered a 44% surge in quarterly sales.
European companies are set to exit a two-year profit slump
with a record jump that outperforms U.S. peers, with profits for
companies on the STOXX 600 forecast to have risen 61% in the
first quarter, as per Refinitiv IBES data. Among other decliners, Britain's biggest defence contractor
BAE Systems BAES.L lost 5% as it faced mounting criticism for
handing its chief executive an extra 2 million pounds ($2.8
million) to convince him to stay.