Investing.com - European stocks closed higher Thursday, as European officials began a two-day summit and bullish U.S. manufacturing data helped spark the risk on sentiment.
At the close of European trade, the EURO STOXX 50 gained 0.17%, France’s CAC 40 climbed 0.22%, while Germany’s DAX 30 added 0.58%.
Market sentiment remained supported after official data showed that the Chinese economy expanded by 7.4% in the three months to October, matching economists' forecasts.
The data came one day after a report showing that U.S. housing starts rose by 15% in September, the fastest pace since July 2008, adding to hopes that the U.S. economic recovery is gaining momentum.
Investors were also looking ahead to the start of a two-day European Union summit, although no major announcements on Spain or Greece were expected.
Helping the bullish sentiment, manufacturing activity in the Philadelphia-region improved more-than-expected in October, expanding for the first time in six months, official data showed on Thursday.
In a report, the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia said that its manufacturing index improved by 7.6 points to 5.7 in October from September’s reading of minus 1.9.
Analysts had expected the index to improve by 2.9 points to a reading of 1.0 in October.
On the index, a reading above 0.0 indicates improving conditions, below indicates worsening conditions.
Financial stocks were mixed, as France saw shares in BNP Paribas drop 0.98% and Societe Generale jump 1.26%, while Germany's Deutsche Bank advanced 1.31%.
Meanwhile, Italian lenders Unicredit and Intesa Sanpaolo declined 0.16% and 1.47%, while Spain's BBVA and Banco Santander plummeted 1.41% and 1.62% respectively.
Elsewhere, Nestle pushed lower, with shares tumbling 2.41%, after the company reported nine-month sales growth that missed analysts' estimates.
On the upside, Nokia surged 5.45%, even as the Finnish mobile-phone maker reported a sixth straight quarterly loss as its Lumia smartphones failed to gain ground from Android-based devices.
In London, FTSE 100 eased higher by 0.10%, in the wake of data indicating retail sales in the U.K. rose more-than-expected in September.
U.K. lenders turned broadly higher, as shares in the Royal Bank of Scotland rose 0.37% and HSBC Holdings climbed 0.50%, while Barclays and Lloyds Banking rallied 0.65% and 1.66% respectively.
Meanwhile, mining stocks held earlier gains, as shares in Evraz jumped 2.65%, while Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton advanced 1.15% and 1.04%.
In addition, oil and gas major BP climbed 0.59%, while Anglo American erased earlier gains, sliding 0.33%
Elsewhere, Man Group dove 7.97%, after the world’s biggest publicly traded hedge-fund manager said outflows increased 57% in the third quarter.
In the U.S., equity markets followed mixed with the Dow Jones up 0.16%, the S&P 500 higher by 0.18% and the tech heavy Nasdaq lagging, off by 0.11%.
Investors are awaiting the U.S. existing home sales and the Canadian core CPI numbers on Friday.
At the close of European trade, the EURO STOXX 50 gained 0.17%, France’s CAC 40 climbed 0.22%, while Germany’s DAX 30 added 0.58%.
Market sentiment remained supported after official data showed that the Chinese economy expanded by 7.4% in the three months to October, matching economists' forecasts.
The data came one day after a report showing that U.S. housing starts rose by 15% in September, the fastest pace since July 2008, adding to hopes that the U.S. economic recovery is gaining momentum.
Investors were also looking ahead to the start of a two-day European Union summit, although no major announcements on Spain or Greece were expected.
Helping the bullish sentiment, manufacturing activity in the Philadelphia-region improved more-than-expected in October, expanding for the first time in six months, official data showed on Thursday.
In a report, the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia said that its manufacturing index improved by 7.6 points to 5.7 in October from September’s reading of minus 1.9.
Analysts had expected the index to improve by 2.9 points to a reading of 1.0 in October.
On the index, a reading above 0.0 indicates improving conditions, below indicates worsening conditions.
Financial stocks were mixed, as France saw shares in BNP Paribas drop 0.98% and Societe Generale jump 1.26%, while Germany's Deutsche Bank advanced 1.31%.
Meanwhile, Italian lenders Unicredit and Intesa Sanpaolo declined 0.16% and 1.47%, while Spain's BBVA and Banco Santander plummeted 1.41% and 1.62% respectively.
Elsewhere, Nestle pushed lower, with shares tumbling 2.41%, after the company reported nine-month sales growth that missed analysts' estimates.
On the upside, Nokia surged 5.45%, even as the Finnish mobile-phone maker reported a sixth straight quarterly loss as its Lumia smartphones failed to gain ground from Android-based devices.
In London, FTSE 100 eased higher by 0.10%, in the wake of data indicating retail sales in the U.K. rose more-than-expected in September.
U.K. lenders turned broadly higher, as shares in the Royal Bank of Scotland rose 0.37% and HSBC Holdings climbed 0.50%, while Barclays and Lloyds Banking rallied 0.65% and 1.66% respectively.
Meanwhile, mining stocks held earlier gains, as shares in Evraz jumped 2.65%, while Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton advanced 1.15% and 1.04%.
In addition, oil and gas major BP climbed 0.59%, while Anglo American erased earlier gains, sliding 0.33%
Elsewhere, Man Group dove 7.97%, after the world’s biggest publicly traded hedge-fund manager said outflows increased 57% in the third quarter.
In the U.S., equity markets followed mixed with the Dow Jones up 0.16%, the S&P 500 higher by 0.18% and the tech heavy Nasdaq lagging, off by 0.11%.
Investors are awaiting the U.S. existing home sales and the Canadian core CPI numbers on Friday.