Sawt Falasteen - Tesla, airline shares take off

At the start of trading, Tesla shares rose 10 percent after the company reported a new record in quarterly profits of $3.3 billion on Wednesday.

Elon Musk's high-flying firm said its 2022 output plan was on track despite ongoing supply chain problems and a hit from recent Covid-19 lockdown measures in China.

Tesla "reported much better-than-expected Q1 results and shared some encouraging growth guidance," said Briefing.com analyst Patrick O'Hare.

While many carmakers have been hobbled by a lack of semiconductors, Musk said it "seems likely" the company will produce more than 1.5 million vehicles in 2022, which would be above the company's long-term target of at least 50 percent output growth.

- Airlines soar -

A forecast by United Airlines for surging travel demand as the pandemic impact fades helped boost airline shares in Europe and the United States.

Shares in British Airways parent IAG soared 7.7 percent and those in low-cost rival EasyJet jumped 6.2 percent in afternoon trading in London.

France's Air France-KLM stock jumped over four percent and Germany's Lufthansa climbed 5.5 percent in Frankfurt.

"The aviation sector is flying higher on expectations of a bumper quarter, after United Airlines posted record guidance for the second quarter," City Index senior markets analyst Fiona Cincotta told AFP.

The aviation sector was ravaged by the Covid crisis that erupted in early 2020, decimating demand and grounding planes worldwide.

Surging oil prices amid the fallout from the Russian war have also acted as a headwind.

"But with demand set to soar over the coming months the likes of IAG and easyJet are being propelled" higher, she said.

United Airlines shares jumped 10.4 percent at the open of trading.

The carrier forecast "the strongest second-quarter revenue guidance in company history" despite logging another Covid-induced loss for the first quarter.

American Airlines, meanwhile, reported another quarterly loss Thursday, but said a recent sharp improvement in bookings should enable it to achieve profitability in the second quarter.

Shares in American airlines climbed 8.2 percent and those in Delta gained 3.8 percent.

"After what has been a very difficult few years for the aviation industry, as a result of lockdowns and alarming inflation, United Airlines' outlook certainly inspired some confidence," XTB analyst Walid Koudmani told AFP.

Wall Street opened higher thanks in part to the positive sentiment driven by Tesla and airlines.

Europe's main indices were also higher in afternoon trading.

Stock markets in Hong Kong and Shanghai fell sharply on heightened anxiety over China's renewed Covid lockdowns and curbs on tech companies.

Tokyo, however, rallied on optimism over a falling yen, which boosts exporters.

Meanwhile, world oil prices rebounded after diving the previous session on weaker demand concerns.

- Key figures around 1330 GMT -

Frankfurt - DAX: UP 1.5 percent at 14,573.38 points

Paris - CAC 40: UP 1.9 percent at 6,753.12

London - FTSE 100: UP 0.2 percent at 7,647.50

EURO STOXX 50: UP 0.6 percent at 3,794.24

New York - Dow: UP 0.8 percent at 35,435.80

Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 1.2 percent at 27,553.06 (close)

Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: DOWN 1.3 percent at 20,682.22 (close)

Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 2.3 percent at 3,079.81 (close)

Euro/dollar: UP at $1.0894 from $1.0853 late on Wednesday

Dollar/yen: UP at 128.27 yen from 127.86 yen

Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3064 from $1.3068

Euro/pound: UP at 83.29 pence from 83.05 pence

Brent North Sea crude: UP 1.8 percent at $108.75 per barrel

West Texas Intermediate: UP 1.9 percent at $104.09 per barrel

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Q.Jaber--SF-PST