By Sara Sjolin, MarketWatch
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- European stock markets pared gains in
afternoon action on Thursday, after U.S. growth data were revised
lower and labor-market figures missed expectations.
The Stoxx Europe 600 index edged up 0.1% to 302.76 after trading
as high as 304.23 ahead of the data.
Shares of Allianz SE climbed 2.1% 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 1.3%, Société Générale SA picked up 0.8% in
France and heavyweight HSBC Holdings PLC (HBC) added 1.1%.
The broader European stock markets trimmed gains in the
afternoon, after data showed the number of Americans who filed for
unemployment benefits rose by 10,000 last week to 354,000,
exceeding the 345,000 level expected by analysts.
Meanwhile, U.S. growth for the first quarter was revised lower
to 2.4% from an initial estimate of 2.5%.
Investors have been closely monitoring data coming out of the
U.S., after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke last week said
that an improvement in data could trigger the central bank to start
tapering its asset purchases in coming months. The bank currently
buys bond worth $85 billion a month and analysts have credited the
aggressive easing strategy as one of the main reasons global equity
markets in recent weeks have climbed to multiyear highs.
"So the question now is how the Fed will read today's data? It's
unlikely to change the FOMC's stance of reducing or increasing the
pace of asset purchases and more likely to keep them on hold at the
next policy meeting and provide little or no details on when and
how the central bank will eventually dial back stimulus measures,"
said Ishaq Siddiqi, market strategist at ETX Capital, in a
note.
"For now, it's short term respite and an opportunity to pick up
stocks battered in the selloff in price-action over the past few
sessions since the Fed's meeting minutes last week," he added.
U.S. stocks opened mixed 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 1.3% in
London and Anglo American PLC gained 0.9%.
The U.K.'s FTSE 100 index climbed 0.1% to 6,634.19.
Germany's DAX 30 index put on 0.5% to 8,380.05, while France's
CAC 40 index rose 0.6% to 3,997.22.
Outside the major indexes, Statoil ASA gained 1%, after Credit
Suisse upgraded the oil firm to neutral from underperform.
SBM Offshore NV , on the other hand, dropped 2%, after Morgan
Stanley cut the oil-services firm to underweight from equal-weight.
Read: Ahead of OPEC meeting, oil-services firms drop on broker
downgrade
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