European shares edged higher on Thursday, remaining within a recent range but receiving a boost from rises in chemical and insurance firms, Reuters reported. The STOXX Europe 600 index was up 0.3 percent by 0818 GMT, bouncing back from a slight dip on Wednesday but below Tuesday's high for the week. Chemical firms were the top sectoral gainers, up 0.7 percent, led up by a 1.6 percent rise for Arkema after UBS raised its target price on the stock. Top STOXX 600 riser was insurer Direct Line, up 3.5 percent, after it was upgraded to "overweight" from "equal-weight" by Morgan Stanley. In all, insurers were up 0.5 percent.
