European shares hit nine-month high on upbeat cues from Fed's Powell

European shares hit a more-than-nine-month high on Wednesday as investors drew positive cues from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's remarks overnight, while Linde's and Akzo Nobel's upbeat forecasts led material and chemical stocks higher.

The pan-European STOXX 600 was up 0.6% at 0818 GMT, hitting its strongest level since April 2022.

Powell's remarks that 2023 should be a year of "significant declines in inflation" was interpreted as less hawkish than feared, although he acknowledged that Friday's blockbuster U.S. jobs report showed why the battle against inflation will "take quite a bit of time."

Chemicals topped the gainers among sectors.

German gas giant Linde and Dutch paints maker Akzo Nobel jumped 2.4% and 6.5%, respectively, after giving higher 2023 earnings forecasts.

Finnish refiner Neste jumped 11% and was the top performer on the STOXX 600 on the back of a comparable fourth-quarter core operating results beat.

Norwegian energy firm Equinor gained 6.1% following a record $74.9 billion adjusted operating profit for 2022.

Italian state-owned bank Monte dei Paschi di Siena (MPS) rose 1.4% following a much larger-than-expected quarterly profit