(Reporting by Shubham Batra in Bengaluru; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)
(For a Reuters live blog on U.S., UK and European stock
markets, click LIVE/ or type LIVE/ in a news window)
April 27 (Reuters) - European shares edged lower on
Thursday, despite a raft of positive corporate earnings, as
troubles at U.S. lender First Republic Bank continued to rattle
investors over the global banking sector.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index was down 0.1% by
0720 GMT. The index was dragged lower by media shares ,
which dropped 1.6%, while Universal Music Group fell 4%
after it posted a slump in its first-quarter core profit.
Shares of healthcare companies were the top gainers
in the index, rising 0.9%.
Worries over the banking sector unnerved investors as shares
of First Republic Bank sank almost 30% on Wednesday,
hitting a record low for the second consecutive day.
Still, banking shares rose 0.4%, led by Barclays Plc that climbed 2.4% on an estimate-beating quarterly
profit, as a resilient performance from its consumer bank offset
pressure on key other business lines.
Unilever Plc climbed 1.5% on better-than-expected
quarterly underlying sales, as the maker of Dove soap raised
prices yet again to compensate for higher commodity and supply
chain costs.
AstraZeneca Plc added 1.7% on beating expectations
for its first-quarter profit and revenue, helped by sales of
some of its oncology as well as rare blood disorder drugs.
Euro zone consumer confidence data for April, due at 0900
GMT, will be on investors' radar.
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