European Markets Put An End To Their Recent Losing Streak

(RTTNews) - The European markets ended Thursday's session with modest gains, snapping a 4 session losing streak. The markets got off to a positive start, but were stuck in a sideways trend throughout the session. Investors had a positive reaction to the minutes from the most recent Federal Reserve meeting, which were released after the European close yesterday. Solid regional data also contributed to the positive mood.

Federal Reserve officials remain divided on whether to raise interest rates, the minutes of the most recent Federal Reserve meeting showed Wednesday. Two officials pushed for a rate hike but others remained concerned about the near-term economic risks.

Although officials were relieved that the Brexit fears were unfounded, many officials said it was appropriate to wait for additional information before deciding another rate hike was warranted.

Policymakers of the European Central Bank said more time was needed to assess the impact of the Brexit vote and it was premature to discuss any possible monetary policy reaction at this stage, the minutes of the rate-setting meeting showed Thursday.

"More time was needed to assess the incoming information over the coming months, although downside risks had clearly increased, the minutes said. The governing council meeting was held on July 20-21.

The pan-European Stoxx Europe 600 index advanced 0.65 percent. The Euro Stoxx 50 index of eurozone bluechip stocks increased 0.50 percent, while the Stoxx Europe 50 index, which includes some major U.K. companies, added 0.42 percent.

The DAX of Germany climbed 0.62 percent and the CAC 40 of France rose 0.44 percent. The FTSE 100 of the U.K. gained 0.14 percent and the SMI of Switzerland finished higher by 0.44 percent.

In Frankfurt, ThyssenKrupp increased 2.98 percent and Salzgitter advanced 6.08 percent.

In London, oil & gas producer Premier Oil climbed 2.47 percent after posting turnaround results for the first half of the current year.

Tour operator Thomas Cook jumped 6.67 percent after signing a strategic sourcing partnership agreement with Sunhotels.

Kingfisher rose 1.76 percent as the home improvement retailer reported higher sales in its second quarter, with improved performance mainly in the UK, France, and Poland.

Nestle advanced 1.47 percent in Zurich. The food giant reiterated its full-year guidance despite reporting its slowest first-half sales growth since 2009.

Telecommunication services firm Swisscom dropped 1.58 percent despite lifting its 2016 guidance.

Vestas Wind Systems soared 9.87 percent in Copenhagen after the wind turbine manufacturer lifted its revenue guidance for the year and launched a share buyback program.

Insurer NN Group surged 8.77 percent in Amsterdam after reporting second-quarter earnings that beat forecasts.

Eurozone inflation increased, as initially estimated, in July final data from Eurostat showed Thursday. Inflation rose to 0.2 percent from 0.1 percent in June. Prices have increased for the second straight month in July.

Headline inflation has been below the European Central Bank's target of 'below, but close to 2 percent' since early 2013.

Eurozone construction output remained flat for the second straight month in June, data from Eurostat showed Thursday. Construction output showed no variations in June, same as in May, which was revised from a 0.5 percent fall reported earlier.

The euro area current account surplus declined to a 4-month low in June, the European Central Bank reported Thursday. The current account surplus fell to EUR 28.2 billion in June from EUR 31.8 billion in May. This was the lowest since February, when the surplus totaled EUR 26.4 billion.

French unemployment rate dropped in the second quarter, after holding steady in the previous three months, to its lowest level since mid-2012, preliminary figures from INSEE showed Thursday.

The seasonally adjusted ILO jobless rate for metropolitan France fell to 9.6 percent from 9.9 percent seen in each of the previous two quarters. A year ago, the rate was 10.1 percent. The latest figure was the lowest since the third quarter of 2012, when it was 9.4 percent.

U.K. retail sales rebounded in July as food and non-food store sales increased from June, the Office for National Statistics showed Thursday. Retail sales volume including automotive fuel climbed 1.4 percent month-on-month in July, reversing a 0.9 percent fall in June. Sales were expected gain only 0.1 percent.

After reporting a slight drop in first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits in the previous week, the Labor Department released a report on Thursday showing another modest decrease in initial jobless claims in the week ended August 13th.

The report said initial jobless claims edged down to 262,000, a decrease of 4,000 from the previous week's unrevised level of 266,000. Economists had expected jobless claims to dip to 265,000.

Philadelphia-area manufacturing activity has seen tenuous growth in the month of August, according to a report released by the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia on Thursday.

The Philly Fed said its diffusion index for current general activity climbed to a positive 2.0 in August from a negative 2.9 in July, with a positive reading indicating growth in regional manufacturing activity. The increase by the index matched economist estimates.

Suggesting moderate economic growth should continue through the end of 2016, the Conference Board released a report on Thursday showing that its index of leading U.S. economic indicators rose for the second consecutive month in July.

The Conference Board said its leading economic index climbed by 0.4 percent in July following a 0.3 percent increase in June. Economists had expected the index to rise by another 0.3 percent.