European stocks suffered modest losses on Thursday, giving back early gains after a key official said the International Monetary Fund may not release its portion of aid to Greece next month.
Jean-Claude Juncker, who heads up euro zone finance ministers, said Greece must convince the IMF that it can rollover its debt for a full year.
Earlier in the day, investors welcomed a report in the Financial Times suggesting that China may snap up a significant portion of the euro zone's Portugal rescue bonds in June.
The Euro Stoxx 50 index of eurozone blue chippers unofficially lost 0.57 percent to 2800.72, while the Stoxx Europe 50 index, which includes some major U.K. companies, was virtually unchanged at 2602.36.
Unofficially, the German DAX lost 0.79 percent, while the French CAC 40 eased 0.30 percent. UK's FTSE 100 is advanced 0.18 percent and Switzerland's SMI added 0.07 percent.
U.K. luxury retailer Burberry Group Plc was down 4.5 percent after saying that it expects to deliver a modest improvement in operating margin in 2012. LVMH was also lower.
Antofagasta rose more than 3 percent. The company reported higher revenues for the first quarter. Anglo American and Kazakhmys were also higher.
Man Group Plc jumped 2.2 percent after the hedge fund manager announced strong net inflows since year-end.
United Utilities fell one percent. The company reported a fall in pre-tax profit.
Daily Mail & General Trust dropped 7.3 percent after issuing a cautious full year outlook.
The Wall Street Journal reported banking giant UBS AG is planning to separate its investment bank and incorporate it outside Switzerland in an effort to appease regulators worried about the size of the firm. UBS was up fractionally in Zurich.
Swiss dental implant maker Nobel Biocare Holding AG rose 6 percent after Morgan Stanley recommended the shares.
Again in Zurich, a positive broker action saw biotechnology firm Actelion Ltd rise 1.6 percent.
Diversified chemical firm Bayer eased 1 percent. UBS reduced its rating on the stock to "Neutral" from "Buy" and cut the price target to 60 euros from 62 euros.
Automakers BMW and Volkswagen lost more than 1.5 percent each. Daimler is slid 0.75 percent.
Morgan Stanley reduced its price targets for BMW and Daimler. BMW's price target was cut to 66 euros from 70 euros, while Daimler's was reduced to 62 euros from 70 euros.
In Paris, Michelin added 1.8 percent. JPMorgan raised its price target on the tire maker to 82 euros from 63 euros.
German import price inflation eased more than expected in April, data from the Federal Statistical Office showed. The rate of inflation in import prices slowed to 9.4 percent in April from 11.3 percent in March. Economists had expected the rate to ease to 9.9 percent.
Meanwhile, French consumer confidence improved marginally in May, a monthly survey by the statistical office Insee revealed. The headline measure of consumer confidence rose to 84 in May from 83 in April. The reading matched economists' forecast.
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May 08, 2026 15:50 ET Manufacturing and services sector survey results and labor market data from main economies were the highlight on the economics news front this week. Factory orders and jobs report dominated the news flow in the U.S. Similarly, industrial production data from German garnered attention in Europe. In Asia, purchasing managers’ survey results from China and the central bank decision from Australia were in focus.