Investing.com – European stocks were up on Thursday, as market sentiment was boosted by hopes of an improving economic environment, while U.S. futures indexes pointed to a higher open on Wall Street.
During European morning trade, the EURO STOXX 50 gained 0.56%, France’s CAC 40 jumped 0.56%, while Germany's DAX added 0.68%.
Shares in automakers were broadly higher amid expectations that a global economic recovery would lead to increased auto sales in 2011.
Shares in the world’s fourth largest automaker Renault jumped 3.29%, rival Peugeot saw shares surge 1.60%, while the world's largest manufacturer of commercial vehicles Daimler saw shares add 1.38%.
Meanwhile, shares in the largest Dutch technical-services company Imtech leaped 2.97% after the company said its order book increased by 10% in 2010 to EUR5.2 billion. The company affirmed its outlook, saying it's "well-positioned for 2011."
Elsewhere, shares in the world’s third largest brewer Heineken jumped 2.23% after Citigroup recommended buying the stock, while rival AB InBev saw shares add 1.78%.
In London, the commodity-heavy FTSE 100 climbed 0.45% as metal and crude oil prices rebounded.
Shares in copper producer Xstrata jumped 2.49%, the world’s second largest mining group Rio Tinto saw shares climb 1.32%, while shares in gold producer Randgold Resources surged 4.67% after the stock was upgraded by Citigroup
Meanwhile, shares in British Petroleum rallied 1.92% after the publication of a report by President Obama’s National Oil Spill Commission revealed that the oil giant was not alone in lax practices that caused the Gulf of Mexico oil leak.
Elsewhere, shares in Arm Holdings, the designer of chips that power Apple’s iPhone rallied 7.13% after Microsoft announced overnight that it would use ARM chip designs in a new version of the Windows operating system.
The outlook for U.S. equity markets, meanwhile, was upbeat. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a rise of 0.12%, S&P 500 futures indicated a gain of 0.12% and Nasdaq 100 futures pointed to an increase of 0.09%.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to publish official data on initial jobless claims.
During European morning trade, the EURO STOXX 50 gained 0.56%, France’s CAC 40 jumped 0.56%, while Germany's DAX added 0.68%.
Shares in automakers were broadly higher amid expectations that a global economic recovery would lead to increased auto sales in 2011.
Shares in the world’s fourth largest automaker Renault jumped 3.29%, rival Peugeot saw shares surge 1.60%, while the world's largest manufacturer of commercial vehicles Daimler saw shares add 1.38%.
Meanwhile, shares in the largest Dutch technical-services company Imtech leaped 2.97% after the company said its order book increased by 10% in 2010 to EUR5.2 billion. The company affirmed its outlook, saying it's "well-positioned for 2011."
Elsewhere, shares in the world’s third largest brewer Heineken jumped 2.23% after Citigroup recommended buying the stock, while rival AB InBev saw shares add 1.78%.
In London, the commodity-heavy FTSE 100 climbed 0.45% as metal and crude oil prices rebounded.
Shares in copper producer Xstrata jumped 2.49%, the world’s second largest mining group Rio Tinto saw shares climb 1.32%, while shares in gold producer Randgold Resources surged 4.67% after the stock was upgraded by Citigroup
Meanwhile, shares in British Petroleum rallied 1.92% after the publication of a report by President Obama’s National Oil Spill Commission revealed that the oil giant was not alone in lax practices that caused the Gulf of Mexico oil leak.
Elsewhere, shares in Arm Holdings, the designer of chips that power Apple’s iPhone rallied 7.13% after Microsoft announced overnight that it would use ARM chip designs in a new version of the Windows operating system.
The outlook for U.S. equity markets, meanwhile, was upbeat. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a rise of 0.12%, S&P 500 futures indicated a gain of 0.12% and Nasdaq 100 futures pointed to an increase of 0.09%.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to publish official data on initial jobless claims.