The German market is marginally 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 0.43 percent, while the Stoxx Europe 50 index, which includes some major U.K. companies, is advancing 0.25 percent.
The DAX index opened higher at 7,310, compared to the prior close of 7,294, and has been seeing volatile trading. The index is currently adding 0.07 percent.
Insurer Allianz is adding 1.15 percent. MunichRe is rising 1.1 percent.
K+S, Basf and Bayer are advancing between 1.15 percent and 0.5 percent.
Siemens is advancing 0.4 percent. Goldman Sachs cut its price target for the industrial conglomerate to 151 euros from 154 euros.
Deutsche Bank is rising 0.7 percent, while Commerzbank is losing 0.3 percent.
Car manufacturer BMW is falling 1.7 percent. Volkswagen is dropping 1.1 percent, while Daimler is flat. Truckmaker MAN is losing 1.4 percent.
RWE is falling 0.4 percent. Unicredit cut its rating on the stock to "Hold" from "Buy."
Outside the main index, SMA Solar is rising about 2 percent. Deutsche Bank raised the stock to "Buy" from "Hold" and increased the price target to 85 euros from 70 euros.
Q-Cells is surging 5.6 percent in Frankfurt, although Deutsche Bank cut its price target on the stock to 1.10 euros from 2 euros. Phoenix Solar is falling 2.2 percent after it was reduced to "Sell" from "Hold" at Deutsche Bank.
Clothing & footwear firm Gerry Weber is gaining 1.8 percent after the brokerage initiated the stock with a "Buy" rating and a price target of 50 euros.
Elsewhere in Europe, the French CAC 40 is adding 0.23 percent and the UK's FTSE 100 is rising 0.66 percent. Switzerland's SMI is advancing 0.13 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 $94.60 per barrel and August gold is slipping $0.6 to $1509.8 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.