European stocks saw slight gains on Thursday following optimistic forecasts from Nvidia, boosting global chipmakers, according to Reuters. The pan-European STOXX 600 index rose by 0.2 per cent as of 0711 GMT, with the tech sector leading the gains with a 1.2 per cent increase. Semiconductor stocks across Europe, including ASML, Infineon, and ASM, surged from 1.5 per cent to 2.4 per cent after Nvidia's announcement of quarterly revenue surpassing estimates, a stock split, and a 150 per cent increase in its quarterly dividend post-split. In Frankfurt trading, Nvidia shares climbed by 6.5 per cent. Later in the day, flash business surveys for the eurozone and the UK were expected to indicate a slight improvement in May. However, defensive sectors like utilities and real estate were on the decline, with Britain's National Grid dropping nearly 8 per cent after unveiling plans to raise around £7 billion ($8.9 billion) through a fully underwritten rights issue. The UK's FTSE 100 remained relatively flat following Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's announcement of a general election on July 4. Meanwhile, shares of Embracer fell by 7.2 per cent after the Swedish games developer announced the departure of its finance chief for personal reasons, along with reporting fourth-quarter operating profit in line with market expectations.
