By Sara Sjolin
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- European stock markets moved cautiously higher at the open on Thursday, extending gains into a fourth session after posting the best daily performance in a month the prior day. Later in the day, investors will train their attention on debt sales in Italy and U.S. initial-claims data. The Stoxx Europe 600 index XX:SXXP +0.47% gained 0.1% to 293.55, after rallying 1.8% on Wednesday. Shares of Ashmore Group PLC UK:ASHM +13.95% jumped 11% after a trading update, while miner Evraz PLC UK:EVR -8.87% sank 10% after warning of strong downside risks in global steel markets. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 index UK:UKX +0.26% traded marginally higher at 6,389.10, while France's CAC 40 index FR:PX1 +0.54% gained 0.2% to 3,749.88. Germany's DAX 30 index DX:DAX +0.49% was slightly higher at 7,813.05.
