Europe's STOXX 600 closes at record high on earnings cheer
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'Nice set' of Q1 figures drive Ahold Delhaize shares higher
Puma rises on 'less laboured start to 2024 than feared'
German industrial output falls less than expected in March
BMW down after car margin misses consensus
Sabadell falls as BBVA will not improve takeover offer
Updated at 1555 GMT
By Ankika Biswas and Johann M Cherian
May 8 (Reuters) -Europe's mainindex endedWednesday at a record high as investors cheeredstrong earnings from the likes of beer maker Anheuser-Busch Inbev and Germany's Siemens Energy, while mullingthe possible timelineof major central bank rate cuts.
The pan-European STOXX 600 .STOXX ended up0.3% ata record, building on Tuesday's more than 1% jump.
Industrial stocks .SXIP boosted the main index after Siemens Energy ENR1n.DE raised its 2024 outlook and announceda second-quarter results beat. The power equipment maker's shares rose 4.7% to lead gains on the Germanbenchmark index .GDAXI.
Anheuser-BuschInbev ABI.BR advanced5.6% after posting consensus-beating first-quarter earnings and confirming its 2024 outlook. The world's largest beer maker was the top gainer in Belgium's main index .BFX and was the biggest boost to the STOXX's food and beverages index .SX3P, which rose 1.6% to lead sectoral advances.
German sportswear maker Puma PUMG.DE advanced 11% after first-quarter sales came in line with expectations, while supermarketgroup Ahold Delhaize AD.AS rose 2.4% after a first-quarter core profit margin beat.
Italy'sLeonardo LDOF.MI rose 2.7% on first-quarter orders and revenue growth. The broader aerospace and defence index .SXPARO rose 1.4%.
Better-than-expected economic growth in China and Europe, and potential rate cuts from the European Central Bank suggest further recovery in earnings in coming quarters, Deutsche Bank analysts wrote.
The STOXX 600 has pared losses fromApril as corporate earnings have been resilient, the European Central Bank is confident of a likely first rate cut in June and as Middle East tensions are ebbing.
Among data,industrial production in Europe's largest economy declined lower-than-expectedin March. Separately, theGerman economic institute IW noted the economy will stagnate in 2024 and continue to lag behind regional peers.
Belgian policymaker Pierre Wunsch said the European Central Bank can press ahead with interest rate cuts this year butneeds to rethink how it forecasts inflation and sets policy based on these projections.
The monetary policy outlook beyond June remains uncertain.
BMWBMWG.DE lost 2.9% after its car segment's first-quarter EBIT margin missed consensus, helping to pull the automobiles index .SXAP down 1.3%and making it among theworst sector performers.
Of the 185 STOXX 600 companies to have reported first-quarter earnings to date, 61% exceeded estimates versus the typical 54% beat rate, weekly LSEG data showed on Tuesday.
Sabadell SABE.MC lost 4.3% after BBVA BBVA.MC told the smaller Spanish lender it was not planning to improve its all-share takeover offer.
Elsewhere, London's benchmark FTSE 100 .FTSE also closed at arecord high, ahead of theBank of England's policy decision due on Thursday.
Reporting by Ankika Biswas and Johann M Cherian in Bengaluru; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips, Mrigank Dhaniwala and Richard Chang
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