European shares rose in early trade on Thursday as investors followed the Federal Reserve's decision to hold interest rates.

In addition to a range of corporate profits and economic data. Nokia, Shell, and Unilever are among the companies that released their results before the bell.

Nokia achieved a profit of 0.03 euros per share in the fourth quarter

Nokia announced a profit of 203 million euros in the three months to December, and said it saw the "soft first half" because of the introduction of 5G technology, "followed by the second half more powerful." The result, published on Thursday, compared to a loss of 378 million euros from the same quarter of 2017, was translated into 0.07 euros diluted share, while net income now amounted to 0.03 euros per share.

The board of directors said 2018 dividends would grow by 5.3% to 0.2 euros per share. Net sales rose 3.3% to 6.87 billion euros. Operating profit jumped 31.7% to 552 million euros, of which business networks brought in 841 million euros, an increase of 30%. The technology sector fell 10.8% year on year to 347 million euros.

 "We have seen the second consecutive quarter of year-on-year sales growth across all five of our network business groups, as well as improved profitability for both companies and Nokia technologies," said Rajiv Suri, President, and CEO of Finland's Telecommunications Company. Well, with our work

"We have established a solid foundation for Nokia's programs that show clear results, and soon our business has become a pillar of growth."

Shell's profit rose 138% to $ 7.3 billion in the fourth quarter

Royal Dutch Shell announced on Thursday that its current profit or loss from its CCS attributable to shareholders rose 138% to $ 7.3 billion in the last three months of 2018. CCS's attributable earnings to shareholders excluding specific items, or adjusted earnings, The fourth quarter of 2018 rose 32% to $ 5.7 billion from $ 4.3 billion last year. Basic earnings per share traded on the exchange were $ 0.89 in the three-month period, up from $ 0.37 last year.

In the full fiscal year 2018, a British multinational company announced a profit of $ 23.8 billion, up 97% from the previous year and issuing market estimates. Adjusted earnings rose 36 percent year-on-year to $ 21.4 billion and core earnings per share rose 46 percent to $ 2.88.

On the data front, German retail sales and house price figures were announced in the UK ahead of the session, while GDP and unemployment figures are due to be released in the eurozone later in the day.

German retail sales fell 2.1% in December

Retail turnover in Germany fell 2.1 percent in December in real terms compared to the same month last year, according to provisional data from the country's statistics office Destatis on Thursday. In nominal terms, retail sales fell by 1.2% yoy.

On a monthly basis, adjusted for calendar and seasonal changes, retail sales fell by 4.3% from November in real terms and fell by 4.8% in nominal terms.

There were 24 days open for sale in December 2018 and December 2017.

European Stocks Open

• The FTSE 100 rose 0.67% at 9:15 CET. Shell was the best performer with the oil giant soaring 3.70%.
• The DAX rose 0.97% at 9:16 CET, with Covestro rising 2.96% at 9:18 CET.
• The CAC 40 index rose 0.57% at 9:15 CET, with the Technipvik index gaining the most by 2.33% at 9:15 am.
• The Euro Stoxx 50 rose 0.34% at 9:16 CET, with the DJIA up 2.06% at 9:32 am CET.

The euro rose 0.20% against the dollar to trade at 1.1505 at 9:17 am.