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According to Reuters, the pan-European market was 0.5 per cent higher at 08:12 GMT on 1,027.92 points.
Increases of as much as 1.2 per cent for Societe Generale, HSBC, Barclays and BNP Paribas helped contribute to the rise, but it was brewer Carlsberg that recorded on of the biggest increases.
The company added 4.6 per cent even though its fourth-quarter results were slightly lower than expected, as it also said that operating profit for 2010 is likely to match that achieved last year.
Heineken, which today released 2009 results that matched expectations, was up by 1.8 per cent.
The company's chairman and chief executive officer Jean-Francois van Boxmeer said in a statement that it expects trading this year to be hit by lower sales volumes as a result of the continuing economic uncertainty.
Posted by Chris Weaver
