European stocks lifted by surprise rise in Chinese exports

European shares edged higher on Thursday as a surprise rise in China's exports overshadowed another set of grim results and a warning from Air France-KLM that demand could take "several years" to recover.

The pan-European STOXX 600 rose 0.6% by 0715 GMT, following a steady session in Asia after Beijing reported a 3.5% rise in April exports, confounding market expectations for a sharp fall, as factories restarted production after the coronavirus pandemic. Europe's miners and retailers, exposed to the health of the world's No. 2 economy, led gains with a 1.5% rise.

Air France dipped 2.7% as the group predicted operating losses to widen "significantly" in the April-June quarter, with 95% of flights expected to remain grounded. However, British Airways-owner IAG rose 0.5% after saying it was planning for flights to return to service in July although passenger capacity would be about 50% lower.

Britain's largest telecoms group BT tumbled 6.5% and was the biggest decliner on UK's FTSE 100 after it suspended its dividend until 2021-22 and pulled its financial outlook in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.