Solid company results help European shares stay near highs

MILAN, Oct (Shenzhen: 000069.SZ - news) 17 (Reuters) - European shares inched higher in early deals on Tuesday, supported by solid earning updates including from food group Danone (LSE: 0KFX.L - news) and education group Pearson (Xetra: 858266 - news) .

Credit Suisse (IOB: 0QP5.IL - news) was also in the spotlight with its shares rising 1.6 percent on reports that activist investor RBR Capital (Other OTC: CGHC - news) has launched a campaign to break up the Swiss investment bank after building up a small stake in it.

By 0707 GMT, the pan-European STOXX 600 index was up 0.1 percent, staying close to the four month highs hit in the previous session.

UK's FTSE however fell 0.1 percent before inflation data and a testimony by BOE Governor Mark Carney later in the day, while Spain's IBEX also slipped as worries over the crisis in Catalonia persisted.

Danone rose 2.2 percent after the world's largest yoghurt maker posted a better-than-expected 4.7 percent rise in underlying third-quarter sales, while Person soared 7.1 percent after predicting that full-year operating profit in the top half of its forecast range.

According to the latest Lipper report, STOXX 600 third-quarter earnings are expected to increase 5.3 percent from a year earlier. (Reporting by Danilo Masoni, éditing by Julien Ponthus)