European Shares Rally As H&M Posts Surprise Q1 Profit
(RTTNews) - European stocks rallied on Thursday to hit a two-week high after Swedish retail giant H&M reported a surprise first-quarter profit and data showed Spanish inflation cooled to a twenty-month low in March on lower energy prices.
Investors shrugged off separate data showing that a measure of Eurozone economic sentiment unexpectedly fell in March.
The pan European STOXX 600 rose nearly 1 percent to 454.52, after having rallied 1.3 percent on Wednesday amid easing concerns over the banking crisis.
The German DAX added 1 percent, France's CAC 40 climbed 1.1 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 was up 0.6 percent.
Retail giant H&M jumped 15.5 percent after reporting a surprise operating profit for the December-February period.
Danish wind turbine maker Vestas gained nearly 5 percent after winning an order in Brazil.
Miners Anglo American, Antofagasta and Glencore rose 1-2 percent in London while oil & gas firms BP Plc and Shell both rose about 1 percent.
Petrofac shares soared 67 percent. The energy services firm and technology group Hitachi Energy have sealed a €13bn ($14.1bn) framework deal with Dutch-German transmission system operator TenneT to supply offshore platforms and onshore converter stations.
Online greeting cards and gift retailer Moonpig jumped 18 percent after backing its full-year guidance.
U.S. Business Inventories Rise In Line With Estimates In June
U.S. Consumer Sentiment Unexpectedly Deteriorates In August
U.S. Industrial Production Pulls Back Slightly In July
New York Manufacturing Index Unexpectedly Climbs To Nine-Month High In August
U.S. Consumer Sentiment Index Unexpectedly Decreases In August
U.S. Import Price Growth Exceeds Estimates In July
U.S. Retail Sales Climb 0.5% In July, In Line With Estimates
