Taking a cue from the US markets, European shares finished mostly in the red Thursday, paring early gains driven by upbeat corporate earnings.
The German DAX Index shed 44.24 points or 0.71% to 6134.70; and the French CAC 40 lost 18.45 points or 0.50% to 3651.91; while the UK's FTSE 100 Index closed down 5.73 points or 0.10% at 5313.95.
In the US, the Dow is trading down 0.82%, the Nasdaq shed 1.47% and the S&P 500 eased 1.06%.
Meanwhile, commodity prices were firm. Crude oil for September delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange added $0.95 to $77.94 a barrel, while August gold edged up $1.50 to $1169.90 an ounce.
Among economic releases, the German Federal Labor Agency said the number of jobless people in the nation declined by 20,000 on a seasonally-adjusted basis in the month of July, matching consensus forecasts.
German unemployment rate edged down to a seasonally adjusted 7.6% in July from 7.7% in June, in line with expectations.
Eurozone economic sentiment rose to a 28-month high in July, according to a survey from the European Commission. The economic sentiment indicator rose to 101.3 in July from 99 in the previous month, higher than a score of 99.1 economists had expected.
The French producer price index remained unchanged in June compared to the previous month. Economists had been looking for an increase of 0.3%.
British house prices dropped 0.5% month-on-month in July, higher than a decline of 0.3% economists had forecast, a report from the Nationwide Building Society showed.
In the US, the Labor Department reported a modest decline in first-time jobless claims. Initial claims for unemployment benefits dropped to 457,000 in the week ended July 24, from the previous week's revised figure of 468,000. Economists had anticipated jobless claims to edge down to 460,000 from the 464,000 originally reported for the previous week.
In London, business publisher Reed Elsevier rose 3.75% after reporting a half-year profit that rose to GBP 318 million from GBP 163 million in the year-ago period.
AstraZeneca gathered 2.70%. The drugmaker reported a pre-tax profit of $2.92 billion for the second quarter, up from $2.61 billion a year earlier. Peer GlaxoSmithKline trimmed 1.14%.
BT Group added 3.50%. The communications solutions provider reported a before-tax profit of GBP 375 million for the first quarter, up 38% from GBP 272 million last year.
Among the losers, beverage can manufacturer Rexam gave in 3.38%. Engineering firm Invensys lost 2.68% and Tullow Oil dropped 2.56%.
Lloyds Banking Group eased 0.63% and HSBC Holdings shed 1.05%, while Royal Bank of Scotland added 0.46%.
Mining stocks were mixed. Kazakhmys gained 1.92% and Antofagasta added 1.50%. However, Vedanta Resources dropped 1.78%, Xstrata lost 1.19% and Rio Tinto ended down 0.95%.
In Germany, Lufthansa led the decliners. The airliner surrendered 4.24%.
Electrical engineering firm Siemens fell 3.32% despite reporting a third-quarter profit that rose nearly 12% from last year to EUR 1.411 billion.
Chemical maker BASF, which reported a second-quarter profit that soared to EUR 1.18 billion from EUR 343 million a year earlier, ended down 2.62%.
Meanwhile, Volkswagen advanced 2.40%. The automaker reported a second-quarter profit that surged to EUR1.25 billion from EUR283 million a year ago.
Peers BMW eased 0.36% and Daimler edged down 0.09%. Truck maker MAN fell 3.91%.
Among lenders, Commerzbank shed 0.43% and Deutsche Bank lost 0.09%.
In Paris, automakers Peugeot and Renault trimmed nearly 3% each.
BNP Paribas dropped 2.83% and Credit Agricole lost 1.72%. Societe Generale eased 0.71%.
Capgemini advanced 7.32%. The tech firm reported a six-month profit that rose 2.4% from the year-ago period to EUR101 million, and upwardly revised its full-year guidance.
France Telecom rose 5.47%. The telecom services provider said its attributable net income in the first-half of the year rose to EUR 3.7 billion from EUR 2.6 billion in the year-ago period.
Asian markets ended on a mixed note. China's Shanghai Composite Index added 0.55% and India's BSE Sensex gained 0.19%, while Japan's Nikkei 225 shed 0.59% and Australia's All Ordinaries eased 0.13%.
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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.