By Barbara Kollmeyer
MADRID (MarketWatch) -- European stock markets added to earlier gains after weekly U.S. jobless claims fell more than expected. Banks and miners remained in the lead for Europe where indexes doubled percentage gains from just ahead of the data. The Stoxx Europe 600 index rose 0.9% to 264.68 points, while it was up just 0.4% pre-data. France's CAC-40 index (FR:PX1 3,697, +19.78, +0.54%) jumped over 1% higher to 3,719.56, while Germany's DAX-30 index (DX:DAX 6,187, +22.89, +0.37%) rose 0.8% to 6,218.45. FTSE 100 (UK:UKX 5,475, +45.40, +0.84%) rose 1.1% to 5,491.90.
