The European markets ended Thursday's session in the green, extending their gains from the previous session. The increase was fueled by continued optimism for a Greek deal with its international creditors. A strong rebound in the Chinese stock market also eased global economic concerns.
The U.S. Federal Reserve hinted yesterday that it is no hurry to raise interest rates anytime soon. The minutes of the most recent Fed meeting showed deepening anxiety over the Greek debt crisis.
Greece has promised to implement pension and tax reforms to win fresh aid from skeptical creditors. Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras told European parliament that he would submit a detailed reform plan to the Eurozone on Thursday aimed at resolving the country's debt crisis.
The Bank of England kept its record low key interest rate and the size of the quantitative easing unchanged as policymakers examine risks emanating from the Greek crisis.
The Monetary Policy Committee decided to hold the key bank rate at 0.50 percent and the size of asset purchases at GBP 375 billion at the end of the two-day rate setting meeting on Thursday.
The Chinese stock market surged by 5.8 percent, as authorities unveiled fresh support measures. In a bid to curb crashing prices, China's securities regulator banned senior management and investors who own stakes in businesses exceeding 5 percent from selling their shares for next six months.
China's central bank also said it would provide sufficient liquidity to China Securities Finance Corp., the state-backed margin finance company.
Additionally, the China Banking Regulatory Commission said it would encourage banks to support companies' share buybacks by offering them collateralized loans.
The Euro Stoxx 50 index of eurozone bluechip stocks increased by 2.87 percent, while the Stoxx Europe 50 index, which includes some major U.K. companies, added 2.21 percent.
The DAX of Germany climbed by 2.46 percent and the CAC 40 of France rose by 2.59 percent. The FTSE of the U.K. gained 1.33 percent and the SMI of Switzerland finished higher by 1.50 percent.
In Frankfurt, Volkswagen increased by 2.48 percent and Daimler added 2.65 percent. BMW also finished higher by 2.31 percent.
Fresenius Medical Care advanced by 2.43 percent and Fresenius gained 2.23 percent. Bayer climbed by 2.82 percent and Merck rose by 2.34 percent.
Commerzbank finished up by 1.83 percent and Deutsche Bank added 2.14 percent.
In Paris, Credit Agricole increased by 4.30 percent and Societe Generale gained 3.89 percent. BNP Paribas also closed higher by 3.04 percent.
Peugeot climbed by 3.66 percent and Renault added 2.45 percent.
In London, home builder Barratt Developments said it traded well throughout the financial year, and expects increased pre-tax profit, supported by higher selling prices and increased completions. The stock gained 3.78 percent.
Hargreaves Lansdown increased by 4.67 percent and Taylor Wimpey added 4.54 percent.
Associated British Foods jumped by 4.78 percent. The Primark owner reported increased revenue for the 40 weeks ended June 20, and backed its full-year earnings forecast.
Mining stocks turned in a solid performance after the rebound in China. Anglo American increased by 1.58 percent and BHP Billiton advanced by 1.56 percent. Glencore climbed by 1.09 percent and Rio Tinto gained 1.63 percent.
Eurozone house prices increased in the first quarter after falling in the prior quarter, preliminary figures from Eurostat showed Thursday. House prices rose 0.3 percent quarter-on-quarter in the three-month period to March, in contrast to a 0.6 percent decrease in the previous three months.
Germany's exports grew unexpectedly in May, taking the trade surplus to a record high, data from Destatis revealed Thursday.
Exports rose 1.7 percent from the prior month, confounding expectations for a 0.8 percent fall. It was the fastest growth since December, when it grew 2.9 percent. In April, exports had climbed 1.6 percent.
At the same time, imports rebounded in May, up 0.4 percent versus a 0.8 percent drop in April. Economists had expected a 0.1 percent gain.
As a result, the trade surplus increased to a record EUR 22.8 billion from a revised EUR 21.5 billion in April.
British house prices increased at the fastest pace in eleven months in June, the latest survey from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors showed on Thursday. The survey showed that monthly house price balance climbed to +40 in June from +34 in May, while it was expected to increase slightly to +36. It was the biggest rate of growth since July 2014.
China's inflation increased more than expected in June as both food and non-food prices moved higher, while producer prices continued its downward trend. Consumer prices increased 1.4 percent year-on-year in June after rising 1.2 percent in May, the National Bureau of Statistics said Thursday. Inflation was expected to rise marginally to 1.3 percent.
First-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits unexpectedly showed another increase in the week ended July 4th, according to a report released by the Labor Department on Thursday, with claims reaching their highest level in over four months.
The Labor Department said initial jobless claims climbed to 297,000, an increase of 15,000 from the previous week's revised level of 282,000. The increase came as a surprise to economists, who had expected jobless claims to dip to 276,000 from the 281,000 originally reported for the previous week.
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Market Analysis
May 01, 2026 15:54 ET Central banks dominated the economics news flow this week with almost all major ones announcing their latest policy decisions and many boosted expectations for a rate hike in June. In other news, several countries released the preliminary data for first quarter economic growth. In the U.S., comments by Fed Chair Jerome Powell were also in focus as his term ends this month.