The French market is modestly higher in afternoon trading Thursday, after Greek lawmakers voted for austerity measures. Firm cues from Asia/Pacific and a positive comment from a Chinese think tank also influenced sentiment.
The Euro Stoxx 50 index of eurozone bluechip stocks is adding 0.24 percent, while the Stoxx Europe 50 index, which includes some major U.K. companies, is advancing 0.02 percent.
The CAC 40 index opened slightly higher at 3,937 and has remained above the flat line, despite volatile trading. The index is currently adding 0.18 percent.
Natixis is advancing 1.8 percent. BNP Paribas and Societe Generale are advancing 1 percent and 0.7 percent, respectively. Credit Agricole is up 0.1 percent.
UBS raised GDF Suez to "Buy" from "Neutral." The stock is rising 0.7 percent.
Peugeot and Renault are falling 1.6 percent and 1.3 percent, respectively.
Cement giant Lafarge is falling 0.1 percent, while building materials maker Saint-Gobain is adding 0.4 percent. Deutsche Bank reduced its price target on both stocks.
Elsewhere in Europe, the German DAX is losing 0.02 percent and the UK's FTSE 100 is rising 0.59 percent. Switzerland's SMI is advancing 0.08 percent.
In economic news, Retail sales in Germany decreased unexpectedly in May, data from the Federal Statistical Office showed. Sales fell 2.8 percent month-on-month after adjusting to seasonal and calender variations. In April, sales remained unchanged. Economists were looking for a 0.5 percent increase. Meanwhile, the unemployment rate was 5.9 percent in May, compared to 7.2 percent last year.
Meanwhile, eurozone annual inflation unexpectedly remained at 2.7 percent in June, flash estimate released by Eurostat said. Economists had expected it to accelerate to 2.8 percent from 2.7 percent in May.
In the U.K., house prices remained flat in June on a monthly comparison after rising 0.3 percent in May, matching consensus forecast, data from the Nationwide Building Society revealed. Price of a typical home in June was 1.1 percent lower than a year ago, following a 1.2 percent drop in May. The consensus forecast called for a 1.3 percent drop for June.
China's State Information Center forecast the economy to grow at a robust pace of 9.5 percent in the first half of the year, with little chance of a hard landing.
Across Asia/Pacific, many major markets ended notably higher. Australia's All Ordinaries added 1.75 percent, China's Shanghai Composite Index advanced 1.23 percent, Hong Kong's Hang Seng advanced 1.53 percent and Japan's Nikkei 225 rose 0.2 percent.
In the U.S., futures point to a higher open on Wall Street. In the previous session, the Dow rose 0.6 percent, the Nasdaq climbed 0.4 percent and the S&P 500 advanced 0.8 percent.
In the commodity space, crude for August delivery is sliding $0.17 to $94.70 per barrel, while August gold is adding $0.3 to $1510.7 a troy ounce.
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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.