European tech index hits 6-month high as SAP and ASML climb

LONDON, July 20 (Reuters) - Europe's technology shares index climbed to its highest level since early January on Wednesday, boosted by a rally in SAP (Amsterdam: AP6.AS - news) and ASML after both reported forecast-beating quarterly results.

Shares (Berlin: DI6.BE - news) in SAP, Europe's largest software company, rose 4.4 percent as unexpectedly strong growth in high-margin packaged software licenses fuelled its quarterly earnings. Its second-quarter operating profit rose 9 percent.

ASML Holding (LSE: 0QB8.L - news) , a key supplier to major semiconductor makers, was up 3.1 percent after reporting a better-than-expected quarterly profit as customers have started taking shipments of its newest tool.

The STOXX Europe 600 Technology index was up 2.4 percent, the top sectoral gainer in Europe, with the index at its highest level since early January.

It has surged nearly 10 percent since the start of last week and was set for its best 2-week gain in more than 7 years, mainly on the back of a sharp rally in ARM Holdings (LSE: ARM.L - news) this week.

ARM shares spiked 41 percent on Monday after Japan's SoftBank agreed to buy Britain's most valuable technology company for $32 billion in cash.

The sector also got support after Microsoft (Euronext: MSF.NX - news) reported on Tuesday a 2.1 percent rise in quarterly adjusted revenue as growth in its cloud business helped to offset weakness in the personal computer market. (Reporting by Atul Prakash; Editing by Sudip Kar-Gupta)