By Sara Sjolin, MarketWatch
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- European stock markets moved higher on
Thursday, ahead of a raft of U.S. data that could strengthen the
case for the Federal Reserve to consider reducing its bond
purchases.
The Stoxx Europe 600 index added 0.4% to 303.72, partly
recovering from a 1.9% loss on Wednesday.
Shares of Allianz SE climbed 2.7%, after Nomura lifted the
rating on the insurance firm to buy from neutral.
Banks were also mostly higher. Analysts at Exane BNP Paribas
suggested banking stocks have further to run, arguing that the
sector is one of the most attractive value plays in the market with
an around 20% further upside to fair value. Shares of Intesa
Sanpaolo SpA gained 2.6%, Société Générale SA picked up 1.2% in
France and heavyweight HSBC Holdings PLC (HBC) added 1.1%.
For the broader European stock markets, investors waited for
data in the U.S. to gauge if the country's economic recovery is on
track. Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke said last week that an improvement
in data could trigger the central bank to start tapering its asset
purchases in coming months, stoking fears that the
$85-billion-a-month liquidity injection will soon come to an
end.
Data on tap on Thursday from the U.S. include weekly jobless
claims, the second report on first-quarter gross domestic product
and pending-home-sales figures.
U.S. stock futures pointed to a lower open on Wall Street.
On the data front in the euro zone, the European Commission said
the Economic Sentiment Indicator for the region picked up 0.8
points to 89.4 in May.
Among notable movers, mining firms were on the rise, tracking
metals prices higher. Shares of Rio Tinto PLC (RIO) added 1.4% in
London and Anglo American PLC gained 1%.
Shares of Kingfisher PLC gave up 1.5% after the home-improvement
retailer reported a 4.2% drop in fiscal first-quarter comparable
sales due to challenging market conditions and cold weather in
Europe.
The U.K.'s FTSE 100 index climbed 0.2% to 6,643.99.
Germany's DAX 30 index put on 0.7% to 8,398.40, while France's
CAC 40 index rose 1% to 4,015.45.
Outside the major indexes, Statoil ASA gained 1.3%, after Credit
Suisse upgraded the oil firm to neutral from underperform.
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