UPDATE 2-U.S. election bets, earnings drive European stocks to 2-week high

(For a Reuters live blog on U.S., UK and European stock markets, click LIVE/ or type LIVE/ in a news window)

* STOXX 600 eyes best week in 6 months

* Tech stocks surge, tracking Wall St peers

* SocGen swings to profit, stock jumps

(Updates to market close)

By Sruthi Shankar

Nov 5 (Reuters) - European stocks hit a more than two-week high on Thursday, as strong quarterly earnings, fresh stimulus for Britain's coronavirus-hit economy and a post-election gains for Wall Street lifted investor spirits.

The pan-European STOXX 600 index .STOXX gained 1.1% to touch its highest level since Oct. 19 and was on track for its best weekly showing in more than six months.

Technology stocks .SXTP jumped 2.5% as did their U.S. peers, but gains were broad-based in Europe with media .SXMP , automakers .SXAP and chemical companies .SX4P surging over 2%.

While the outcome of the U.S. presidential election is still unclear, Democratic challenger Joe Biden was edging closer to victory over Republican President Donald Trump, who has alleged voting fraud, filed lawsuits and called for at least one state recount. were counting on Republicans to maintain control of the U.S. Senate, which dims prospects for a large new stimulus package but makes it harder to enact tighter regulation or raise corporate taxes on American firms. a market perspective, the uncertainty we are seeing does little to hurt sentiment, with the prospect of a split Congress limiting the possibility of higher taxes under Biden," Joshua Mahony, senior market analyst at IG said in a note.

A handful of upbeat corporate results also lifted European markets, with Munich-based broadcaster ProSiebenSat.1 Media PSMGn.DE jumping 8.9% after it returned to profit in the third quarter and reinstated its outlook for the full year. lender Societe Generale SOGN.PA gained 3.7% after a recovery in its equity trading business helped it swing back to a quarterly profit. insurer RSA RSA.L soared 45.7% as it said England's second national lockdown is unlikely to have much impact on its business. turbine maker Siemens Gamesa SGREN.MC , which would benefit from Biden's clean energy push, rose 5.1% after it confirmed forecasts for a steady rise in margins until 2023. shares, along with those of rival Vestas VWS.CO , took a hit on Wednesday amid uncertainty over the U.S. election outcome.

Markets also took heart from new economic stimulus to cushion the impact of the coronavirus crisis, with the UK's FTSE .FTSE up 0.4% after the Bank of England increased its already huge bond-buying stimulus and Finance Minister Rishi Sunak extended his costly coronavirus furlough scheme .L .SX7P came under pressure, with Dutch bank ING Groep NV INGA.AS falling 4.8% after reporting lower-than-expected pre-tax profit. Commerzbank CBKG.DE dropped 5.8% after it reported a quarterly loss.