Investing.com – European stocks rose on Thursday following upbeat data on German unemployment, paring sharp losses recently suffered amid fears over sovereign debt in the euro zone.
During early European trade, France’s CAC 40 was up 0.54%; Britain's FTSE 100 gained 0.39%; Germany's DAX rose 0.41%; and the EURO STOXX 50 was up 0.55%
Earlier in the day, official data showed that German unemployment fell at the fastest pace in more than two years in April. The Federal Labor Agency said number of Germans out of work fell a seasonally adjusted 68,000 to 3.29 million during the month; economists had expected a more modest decline of 11,000.
The markets' rebound also came on the back of better-than-expected earnings reports from Siemens and Unilever.
On Wednesday, European markets were shaken after Standard & Poor’s cut Spain’s credit rating to AA from AA+, saying the outlook on the country’s debt was negative. The move came after the rating agency lowered Portugal’s borrowings to the third-lowest investment grade and reduced Greece’s to junk.
Across the Atlantic, the outlook for U.S. markets was rosy: Dow Jones Industrial Average futures indicated a gain of 0.34%, S&P 500 Index futures pointed to a rise of 0.49% and Nasdaq 100 Index futures indicated an increase of 0.3%.
Later in the day, the U.S. Labor Department was set to publish a weekly report on initial jobless claims, an important gauge of overall economic health.
During early European trade, France’s CAC 40 was up 0.54%; Britain's FTSE 100 gained 0.39%; Germany's DAX rose 0.41%; and the EURO STOXX 50 was up 0.55%
Earlier in the day, official data showed that German unemployment fell at the fastest pace in more than two years in April. The Federal Labor Agency said number of Germans out of work fell a seasonally adjusted 68,000 to 3.29 million during the month; economists had expected a more modest decline of 11,000.
The markets' rebound also came on the back of better-than-expected earnings reports from Siemens and Unilever.
On Wednesday, European markets were shaken after Standard & Poor’s cut Spain’s credit rating to AA from AA+, saying the outlook on the country’s debt was negative. The move came after the rating agency lowered Portugal’s borrowings to the third-lowest investment grade and reduced Greece’s to junk.
Across the Atlantic, the outlook for U.S. markets was rosy: Dow Jones Industrial Average futures indicated a gain of 0.34%, S&P 500 Index futures pointed to a rise of 0.49% and Nasdaq 100 Index futures indicated an increase of 0.3%.
Later in the day, the U.S. Labor Department was set to publish a weekly report on initial jobless claims, an important gauge of overall economic health.