BRUSSELS, Feb 2 — European shares rose for a third straight session today, recouping nearly half of their January losses, as strong fourth-quarter earnings outweighed concerns surrounding interest rate hikes ahead of key central bank decisions due tomorrow.

The pan-European STOXX 600 gained 0.6 per cent, with chemical stocks and financials in the lead.

British online supermarket group Ocado was the top performer in early trade, gaining 7.0 per cent after Credit Suisse double upgraded the stock to "outperform” from "underperform”.

Swedish industrial technology group Hexagon gained 3.5 per cent after beating market expectations with record quarterly earnings.

German chip supplier Siltronic added 3 per cent after posting a 17 per cent rise in quarterly earnings and saying it expected semiconductor demand to increase.

Novo Nordisk climbed 1 per cent despite missing expectations for fourth-quarter operating profit, as the Danish drug developer said it aimed to generate sales growth of between 6 per cent and 10 per cent in local currencies in 2022.

Swedbank dropped 2.9 per cent after posting a fourth-quarter operating profit that was slightly lower than expected, as weaker results from fixed income trading weighed and supply problems tempered economic growth. — Reuters