European shares extended gains to new highs by early afternoon on Thursday, as strong corporate earnings from luxury and industrial groups fuelled a broad rally across the region’s equity markets. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT The pan-European STOXX 600 was up about 0.5% to 624.67 points by midday, holding near the all-time high level as investors digested a heavy slate of earnings updates. Major benchmarks also hovered near record levels, with France’s CAC 40 up more than 1.4% on the day and