Oct 12 (Reuters) - European stocks hit three-week highs on Thursday, supported by a fresh round of declines in government bond yields as investors took comfort from dovish views from Federal Reserve officials.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index climbed 0.6% by 0711 GMT, with miners and automakers leading broad sectoral gains.
Wall Street closed higher on Wednesday after minutes of the Fed's last meeting showing caution among policymakers that helped fuel hopes that rates would stay steady.
Focus now will be on U.S. inflation data, due later in the day.
Asian stocks also rallied after a China state fund increased its stake in the country's biggest banks.
Ericsson edged up 1.3% even as after the Swedish telecom gear maker announced a 32 billion Swedish crown ($2.9 billion) impairment charge.
Publicis rose 3.7% after the world's largest advertising group increased its 2023 sales and margin forecasts.
In UK, Restaurant Group surged 36.9% after an Apollo Global-owned and managed vehicle announced acquisition of the Wagamama owner for 506 million pounds ($623.4 million) in cash.
Europe's largest sugar producer Suedzucker climbed 4.4% after it raised its forecast for full-year earnings. (Reporting by Sruthi Shankar in Bengaluru; Editing by Varun H K)
