BNP Paribas leads Europe higher after results A combination of strong results and an improving macroeconomic backdrop gave European equities a positive start to trading on Wednesday. Better than expected GDP figures from France and Germany helped the FTSE Eurofirst 300 rise 0.8 per cent to 1,078.03. BNP Paribas rose 6.3 per cent to €35.62 after it reported above-consensus results for its fourth quarter. The group reported a fourth-quarter net profit of €765m, along with a €567m writedown on Greek debt. It said its corporate and investment banking unit had seen a "good start" to 2012. BNP's strong results provided some relief for French lenders, which had been hit earlier in the week by the expiry of a ban on short selling and concern about the sector's upcoming results. Crédit Agricole gained 2.8 per cent to €5.01, while SocGen added 4.4 per cent to €22.86. Elsewhere on France's blue-chip CAC 40 index, Danone , the food group, rose 1.6 per cent to €49.78 after it reported a rise of 20 basis points in its operating margin and a 7.8 per cent increase in sales in its full-year results. Overall, index rose 1 per cent to 3,408.68. The FTSE MIB rose 1.4 per cent to 16,676.75. Italian lender Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena jumped 9 per cent to €0.33, after the bank's controlling shareholder, the Monte dei Paschi foundation, announced it would sell up to 15 per cent of its stake. UniCredit also gained 4.1 per cent to €4.24, as banks across Europe rallied. In Frankfurt, the Xetra Dax rose 1.1 per cent to 6,803.21. Infineon Technologies recovered 2.9 per cent to €7.31, after falling 4.3 per cent on Tuesday. The stock fell sharply at the end of the previous session, after the administrator of defunct German chipmaker Qimonda launched a €1.7bn claim against Infineon. ThyssenKrupp endured a hangover from its disappointing results on Tuesday. The German steelmaker sank 0.8 per cent to €20.94 in an otherwise rising market. Heineken , the Dutch brewer, jumped 4.2 per cent to €38.09 after it announced a 9 per cent increase in its net profits. The Amsterdam Stock Exchange rose 0.7 per cent to 324.02.