Upbeat earnings, Fed comments lift European shares to 7-week high

(Reuters) - European shares hit a seven-week high on Thursday as some concerns were eased about the pace of rate hikes by the U.S. Federal Reserve going forward, while a clutch of strong results including a quarterly profit for Shell, bolstered buying.

The Fed hiked the main interest rate by 75 basis points as expected, and reiterated inflation control as priority, but dropped guidance on the size of the next rate rise and noted that "at some point" it would be appropriate to slow down.

The pan-European STOXX 600 index rose 0.5%. Investors this year have been beset with worries that aggressive central bank attempts at controlling surging inflation could tip economies into recession.

In one of the busiest earnings day for Europe, Milan's main stock index jumped 1.0% as carmaker Stellantis climbed 3.7%, while chipmaker STMicroelectronics rose 2.7% on raising its revenue forecast.

The biggest boost to the broader STOXX 600 came from Schneider Electric, which rose 4.6% on an upbeat outlook, while oil major Shell gained 0.9% rise after reporting a quarterly profit that smashed its previous record.

Spain's IBEX meanwhile, slipped as euro zone's second-biggest lender Santander fell on missing profit estimates.

(Reporting by Susan Mathew in Bengaluru)