By Helena Smolak


European luxury shares gained after LVMH's better-than-expected first-quarter sales eased investors' concerns, setting a positive tone for the sector amid subdued consumer sentiment.

At 0830 GMT, LVMH shares were 3.9% higher at EUR812.50, and have risen 9.5% year to date. The Stoxx Europe luxury index was 1.3% higher, outperforming most European blue-chip indexes, with Hermes, Richemont, and Burberry all trading up more than 1%.

French luxury conglomerate LVMH--which counts Dior and Louis Vuitton among its brands--said late Tuesday that revenue for the first three months of the year fell 2% to 20.69 billion euros (21.97 billion), roughly in line with analysts who had expected a sluggish start to the year.

LVMH's sales results weren't as weak as the market had feared, and should be taken positively, considering the muted investor sentiment that prevailed ahead of the update, Barclays analysts Carole Madjo and Wendy Liu said in a note.

LVMH is the first of Europe's main luxury companies to report first-quarter data.


Write to Helena Smolak at helena.smolak@wsj.com


(END) Dow Jones Newswires

04-17-24 0504ET