By Sara Sjolin
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- European stock markets opened higher on Thursday, after a Chinese manufacturing survey showed factory activity picked up in November after contracting for 13 straight months. The Stoxx Europe 600 index XX:SXXP +0.46% added 0.3% to 270.85. U.S. markets were closed for Thanksgiving holiday, which could keep trading volumes thinner. Shares of SABMiller PLC UK:SAB +5.18% climbed 4.1% in London after a well-received earnings report. Resource firms were also on the rise in the U.K. with shares of BHP Billiton PLC UK:BLT +0.57% BHP -0.69% AU:BHP +0.99% up 0.8% and BG Group PLC UK:BG +1.18% rising 0.9%. The FTSE 100 index UK:UKX +0.41% traded 0.4% higher at 5,774.75. In France, shares of Veolia Environnement SA FR:VIE +1.33% picked up 1.2%. The CAC 40 index FR:PX1 +0.44% rose 0.4% to 3,490.13. Among German stocks, shares of Commerzbank AG DE:CBK +3.16% picked up 2.6% and shares of Deutsche Bank AG DE:DBK +0.65% DB -0.68% gained 0.9%. The DAX 30 index DX:DAX +0.76% moved 0.7% higher to 7,232.87.
