* STOXX 600 climbs 0.6 pct
* Tech stocks strong after Apple results relief
* Miners rise on Chinese factory data
* Results drive Inmarsat , Lundin, GN Store higher
* DAX boosted by euro fall, Italian stocks near 9-year high (Adds closing prices, details)
By Helen Reid
LONDON, May 2 (Reuters) - European shares rose on Wednesday, boosted by some strong earnings updates and a rising tech sector after results from Apple exceeded weak expectations.
Shares in AMS AMS.S , which provides the facial recognition technology used in Apple's iPhones, jumped 7 percent after Apple AAPL.O surprised the market with solid iPhone X sales, confounding fears of a much weaker performance. shares were up 4 percent.
Other chipmakers STMicroelectronics STM.MI , Infineon IFXGn.DE , BE Semiconductor BESI.AS and ASML ASML.AS also posted sharp gains after the tech giant's results helped sentiment on the sector.
Europe's tech sector .SX8P rose 1.2 percent to a six-week high.
It helped the pan-European STOXX 600 .STOXX end up 0.7 percent at its highest level since Feb 5, little affected by data showing that euro zone economic growth slowed as expected at the start of 2018. drop in the euro provided support, helping the exporter-heavy DAX index .GDAXI outperfrom with a rise of 1.5 percent, while Italy's FTSE MIB .FTSEMIB rose 1.2 percent to its highest level since October 2009, as government debt rose on dimming prospects of a snap election. stocks .SXPP jumped 2.8 percent, providing the bedrock for Europe's gains as copper prices recovered on strong China factory data. strong earnings have been the main engine of the European index in recent weeks.
Thomson Reuters data showed that so far earnings growth for the euro zone MSCI EMU index was down 1.3 percent for the first quarter, while MSCI Europe companies have reported 0.5 percent earnings growth.
Earnings for the Europe-wide index have delivered a 1.2 percent surprise thus far, meaning results have outperformed analysts' expectations. Deutsche Bank (DE:DBKGn) strategists said results beats were set to increase.
"The gross beat ratio, at 44 percent, is low, but our gross beats model - based on moves in the euro, commodities and global macro surprises - suggests that this is set to pick up during the remainder of the season," wrote Deutsche Bank's equity strategy team.
"Tech, consumer staples and energy have seen the strongest earnings per share (EPS) growth for the companies that have reported so far," they added, saying financials and industrials have been the weakest.
On Wednesday British satellite firm Inmarsat ISA.L led the pack, jumping 8.1 percent after reporting stronger first-quarter revenue. in Swedish oil firm Lundin Petroleum LUPE.ST rose 4.3 percent after it became the latest European oil company to beat earnings expectations, helped by higher output. hearing aid company GN Store Nord GN.CO gained 7 percent after announcing a 1 billion Danish krone share buyback and beating profit expectations. results disappointments, Paddy Power Betfair PPB.L was among the worst-performing on the European index, down 4 percent after first-quarter earnings fell. The bookmaker also announced a 500 million pound share buyback programme. online grocer Ocado OCDO.L pared rose 3.5 percent after it signed a partnership deal with Swedish grocer ICA ICAA.ST to develop its online business.