European shares opened higher on Thursday, following three straight sessions of losses, lifted by Richemont's upbeat results, while investors await the release of the European Central Bank's policy meeting minutes due later in the day.

The pan-European STOXX 600 index edged 0.1% higher by 0807 GMT, after falling to a six-week low in the previous session.

Supporting the benchmark index, shares of Richemont climbed 7.3% after the Cartier jewellery owner's third-quarter sales trounced estimate, owing to a massive sales jump in China.

Investors await minutes from the ECB's December meeting for clues on the central bank's interest rate trajectory.

The recent bevy of remarks from policymakers to push against market expectations have caused traders to scale back rate-cut bets, with the first cut now being priced in for April instead of March.

 

(Reporting by Shristi Achar A in Bengaluru; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)