European stocks show an increase for the first 3 days after Alcoa Inc. kicked off earnings season for the fourth quarter of 2012. The company's revenue fell 2% to $ 5.9 billion, but exceeded the average analyst estimate, which was $ 5.6 billion

Also have a positive impact on the market investor expectations data on industrial production in Germany.

To date:

FTSE 100 6,071.41 +17.78 +0.29%

DAX 7,701.68 +5.85 +0.08%

CAC 3,709.32 +3.44 +0.09%

Shire Plc shares rose 1.5% after the announcement of the CEO of the company's profit growth.

Paper Delta Lloyd NV jumped 6.8% after Aviva Plc sold its share of the Dutch insurance company.

The market value of Sainsbury Plc fell 2.9% after reporting slower sales growth in eight years.

PSA Peugeot Citroen shares fell 0.7%. The company reduced sales in 2012 by 17% - to 2.97 million vehicles, compared with 3.5 million in 2011.