The European markets are mixed on Thursday, following multi-year highs in the previous session, after some unimpressive earnings news from the region forced investors to exercise caution. Sentiment was also impacted by some mixed cues from Asia.
On the economic front, Eurozone's trade surplus more than doubled in March from a month ago, data published by Eurostat showed. The surplus amounted to 22.9 billion euros in March, higher than 10.1 billion euros in February. In March 2012, the balance was positive at 6.9 billion euros.
Eurozone inflation slowed as initially estimated to 1.2 percent in April from 1.7 percent in March, final data from Eurostat revealed. Month-on-month, prices were down 0.1 percent. Core inflation, which excludes energy, food, alcohol and tobacco, fell to 1 percent from 1.5 percent a month ago.
The Euro Stoxx 50 index of eurozone bluechip stocks is gaining 0.07 percent, while the Stoxx Europe 50 index, which includes some major U.K. companies, is losing 0.13 percent.
The German DAX and the UK's FTSE 100 are gaining 0.3 percent and 0.2 percent, respectively. The French CAC 40 is marginally down and Switzerland's SMI is falling 0.3 percent.
Deutsche Boerse is losing 5.2 percent in Frankfurt. Commerzbank and Deutsche Bank are declining 2.6 percent and 1.1 percent, respectively.
Tiremaker Continental is falling 2.4 percent and potash maker K+S is falling 1.2 percent.
Beiersdorf is gaining 2.4 percent. HeidelbergCement and Deutsche Telekom are notably higher.
Allianz is up 0.6 percent even as S&P Equity downgraded the stock.
ThyssenKrupp is up 1 percent. Societe Generale raised the stock to ''Buy'' from ''Hold.''
In Paris, EDF is declining 4.7 percent, followed by Alstom, which is down 3.2 percent. Merrill Lynch cut EDF to ''Underperform'' from ''Neutral.''
Vivendi is falling 2.5 percent as its unit Activision Blizzard is said to be shelving a plan to repurchase shares held by the French media giant.
Societe Generale is in the red, while BNP Paribas and Credit Agricole are in positive territory.
In London, Aviva is gaining 7.4 percent. The insurer said pro forma value of life new business, a key measure of growth, increased 18 percent in its first quarter, driven mainly by solid growth in developed markets of UK and France.
TUI Travel is gaining 3.3 percent. William Hill and ITV are adding 2.6 percent and 2.4 percent, respectively.
Thomas Cook is adding 12.3 percent. The tour operator said first-half loss attributable to equity holders of the parent narrowed. The firm also announced a 1.6 billion pounds capital refinancing plan.
Vedanta is up 0.8 percent after reporting annual results.
Deutsche Bank cut HSBC to ''Hold'' from ''Buy.'' The stock is flat.
Antofagasta is losing 0.5 percent. The copper miner reported a 29.3 percent decline in earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization for its first quarter, reflecting lower revenues and higher operating costs.
Zurich Insurance is losing close to 3 percent in Zurich after the insurer reported a lower profit for the first quarter.
Richemont is surging 6.6 percent after the luxury goods group reported higher annual profit.
In Asia/Pacific, markets were mixed. Australia's All Ordinaries slid 0.6 percent and Japan's Nikkei 225 fell 0.4 percent. On the other hand, China's Shanghai Composite Index climbed 1.2 percent and Hong Kong's Hang Seng gained 0.2 percent.
In the U.S., futures point to a slightly higher open on Wall Street. In the previous session, stocks saw some volatility over the course of the trading day before ending the session mostly higher. The Dow rose 0.4 percent, the Nasdaq advanced 0.3 percent and the S&P 500 gained 0.5 percent.
Among commodities, crude for June delivery is falling $0.90 to $93.40 per barrel and June gold is losing $25.7 to $1370.5 a troy ounce.
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June 05, 2026 16:18 ET A busy week for economic news flow saw a slew of reports being released that reflected the trends in the U.S. labor market. In Europe, economic growth and inflation data gained attention as the European Central Bank and Bank of England head for policy session later in the month. In Asia, the monetary policy session of the Indian central bank was in focus as the country, a major oil importer, reels under the pressures of a weaker rupee and rising inflation.