Investing.com - European stock markets rose Thursday, with investors digesting a deluge of corporate earnings as well as regional growth and employment data.
At 10:05 ET (15:05 GMT), the DAX index in Germany traded 1.6% higher, the CAC 40 in France rose 1.3%, and the FTSE 100 in the U.K. gained 0.4%.
Eurozone grew in third quarter
The eurozone grew faster than market watchers expected in the third quarter from the previous three months, data released earlier Thursday confirmed, but quarterly growth of 0.4% showed the eurozone economy remained fragile.
At the same time, eurozone industrial production fell more than expected in September with Germany suffering the biggest fall among the bloc's largest nations, indicating than a long-expected recovery could be even further delayed.
Industrial production fell by 2.0% compared to the previous month, exceeding a 1.4% drop expected, even as the previous month's solid 1.8% growth figure was revised down to just 1.5%.
Investors are also concerned about a potential trade war with the new Donald Trump-led US administration.
Siemens impresses with results
Thursday was another busy day of corporate news in Europe.
Siemens (ETR:SIEGn) stock rose over 5% after the German engineering company posted better than expected results and said it was in a good position to navigate mounting global political and trade tensions.
Deutsche Telekom (ETR:DTEGn) stock climbed 4% after the German telecommunications giant reported a strong third quarter, primarily driven by robust growth in Germany, and raised its guidance.
Scor (EPA:SCOR) rose 10% after the French reinsurance company posted strong third quarter results.
ASML (AS:ASML) stock rose 6.3% after Europe's largest tech firm said it expects sales to grow by 8% to 14% over the coming five years, as a boom in AI fuels strong demand for its most advanced tools.
Burberry (LON:BRBY) stock soared 18% after new CEO Joshua Schulman unveiled his strategy to revive the struggling luxury fashion house, even as it reported a half-year operating loss.
Aviva (LON:AV) stock rose over 4% after the British insurer posted a 15% rise in general insurance gross written premiums for the first nine months of the year, adding that it was confident of meeting group targets.
Crude bounces after IEA report
Oil prices edged higher Thursday, helped by the IEA lifting its 2024 demand growth forecast.
By 09:05 ET, the Brent contract was 1.1% higher to $73.06 per barrel, while U.S. crude futures (WTI) traded 1.1% higher to $69.21 a barrel.
The International Energy Agency published its monthly report earlier Thursday, and raised its 2024 demand growth forecast by 60,000 barrels per day, while keeping its 2025 oil demand growth forecast at 990,000 bpd.
That said, the Paris-based agency stated that global oil supply will substantially exceed demand in 2025 even if cuts remain in place from OPEC+, which groups the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies like Russia, as rising production from the United States and other outside producers outpaces sluggish demand.
This report has been greeted more enthusiastically after the OPEC trimmed its demand forecast for a fourth consecutive month earlier in the week, citing persistent concerns over cooling Chinese demand. .
The EIA publishes its weekly crude oil and product stockpile data later in the session, a day later than usual following Monday’s Veterans’ Day holiday in the US.