European stock markets continued to rise on Thursday, with shares of Thomas Cook Group PLC rallying after a well-received earnings report, and investors digesting the latest German unemployment figures and euro-zone confidence figures.
The Stoxx Europe 600 index climbed 0.3% to 324.94, building on a 0.6% gain from Wednesday. U.S. markets will be closed for the Thanksgiving holiday.
On the macroeconomic news front, data out of Germany showed the number of people without a job went up by 10,000 in November, which was more than forecast. The rise, however, wasn’t enough to change the country’s unemployment rate,whichheldsteady at 6.9% ,meeting analyst expectations.
For the euro zone, data showed confidence among industrial firms edged higher for a seventh straight month in November, but that consumers aren’t sharing their optimism. Economic sentiment — which measures the mood across both consumers and businesses — rose to 98.5 in November, the highest level since August 2011 and up from 97.7 in October.
The main driver of that rise came from the services and industry sectors, while retailers’ outlook was marginally brighter in November than a month earlier.
Germany’s DAX 30 index climbed 0.3% to 9,380.60, on track for another record close. France’s CAC 40 index gained 0.1% to 4,297.28 and the U.K.’s FTSE 100 index rose 0.1% to 6,655.80.
Source: Marketwatch
