Investing.com – European equities continued to move higher on Thursday as investors celebrated strong trade data from China, digested inflation readings in the euro zone and kept tabs on company earnings.
Nearing midday trade in Europe, the benchmark Euro Stoxx 50 rose 0.47%, France’s CAC 40 gained 0.66% while Germany’s DAX 30 advanced 0.24%.
The bullish trend continued on the back of U.S. Federal Reserve (Fed) chair Janet Yellen’s testimony on Wednesday in what was characterized as a relief rally on the interpretation that the outlook from the chief of the world’s number one central bank had not become more hawkish.
After the testimony to the U.S. House of Representatives a day earlier, Yellen will deliver the same speech to the Senate at 10:00AM ET (14:00GMT) on Thursday.
On the European economic front, annualized inflation figures from Germany, France and Spain all came out in line with forecasts as market players digested the data with an eye on the possibility for the European Central Bank to eventually begin a removal of accommodative monetary policy.
Investors also celebrated the fact that Chinese imports and exports surged past estimates in June.
Over in the U.K., the pound was stronger after Bank of England (BoE) member Ian McCafferty called for the central bank to begin unwinding its asset purchase program. McCafferty was one of the three members who voted for a rate hike at the June meeting against five other policymakers who kept policy on hold.
As the earnings season began revving its engines in Europe, Alstom (PA:ALSO) gained nearly 3% after the French rail transport company reported a 6% increase in sales.
Asos (LON:ASOS) dropped roughly 0.7% despite reporting a 29% jump in sales thanks to a weaker pound. Analysts suggested that the drop in the British online retailer’s stock was due to the fact that the increase in sales was thanks to business outside the U.K.
In other European company headlines, AstraZeneca (LON:AZN) traded near the bottom of the pan-European Stoxx 600 after a report that the British pharma firm’s chief executive Pascal Soriot planned to abandon the firm to run Teva (TA:TEVA). Shares were down nearly 5% on Thursday.
Shares in Daimler (DE:DAIGn) were off 0.9% after a report accused the maker of Mercedes of selling more than a million cars with excess emissions.
Meanwhile, oil prices headed lower on Thursday as concerns over the global supply cut continued to support bearish sentiment.
The International Energy Agency (IEA) reported Thursday that OPEC’s compliance with its own agreement to cut production slumped to 78% in June, from the prior month’s 95% level. That was its lowest level this year.
European energy stocks traded mixed, as French oil and gas major Total SA (PA:TOTF) inched up 0.08%, Italy’s ENI (MI:ENI) was unchanged and Norwegian rival Statoil (OL:STL) fell 0.64%.
Financial stocks traded higher, as French lenders BNP Paribas (PA:BNPP) and Societe Generale (PA:SOGN) gained 1.18% and 1.29%, respectively, while Germany’s Deutsche Bank (DE:DBKGn) and Commerzbank (DE:CBKG) traded up 0.82% and 1.52%, respectively.
Among peripheral lenders, Italian banks Intesa Sanpaolo (MI:ISP) and rival Unicredit (MI:CRDI) dropped 0.14% and 0.06%, respectively, but Spanish banks BBVA (MC:BBVA) and Banco Santander (MC:SAN) rose 2.06% and 1.49%, respectively.
In London, the commodity-heavy FTSE 100 edged forward 0.06%, lagging other European counterparts.
Shares in Glencore (LON:GLEN) rose 0.95%, Anglo American (LON:AAL) traded up 0.96%, BHP Billiton (LON:BLT) gained 0.66% and Rio Tinto (LON:RIO) advanced 0.45%.
Energy stocks traded lower, as BP (LON:BP) lost 0.61% and rival Royal Dutch Shell (LON:RDSa) fell 0.79%.
Financial stocks saw mixed trade, with shares in HSBC Holdings (LON:HSBA) down 0.27% while Royal Bank of Scotland (LON:RBS) advanced 0.48%, Lloyds Banking (LON:LLOY) gained 1.85% and Barclays (LON:BARC) rose 1.92%.
In the U.S., stock futures pointed to a higher open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures gained 0.11%, S&P 500 futures rose 0.18%, while the Nasdaq 100 futures traded up 0.38%.