European shares set to inch up

European stocks were set to inch higher on Thursday, adding to recent lofty gains, with Infineon in focus after posting a sharp rise in operating profit. The auto and industrial chipmaker said its fiscal fourth-quarter operating profit rose 27 per cent. Shares in French spirits group Remy Cointreau will also be in focus on Thursday after it reported a 14.6 per cent fall in first-half profit on Thursday. At 0718 GMT, futures for Euro STOXX 50, for Germany's DAX and for France's CAC were up 0.2-0.3 per cent. European stocks have been strongly rising in the past few weeks, lifted by the prospect of further measures from the ECB including quantitative easing, according to Reuters.