By Sara Sjolin, MarketWatch
LONDON (MarketWatch) — European stock markets pared gains in afternoon action on Thursday, after U.S. growth data were revised lower and labor-market figures missed expectations.
The Stoxx Europe 600 index XX:SXXP +0.30% edged up 0.1% to 302.76 after trading as high as 304.23 ahead of the data.
Shares of Allianz SE DE:ALV +2.58% climbed 2.1% after Nomura lifted the rating on the insurance firm to buy from neutral.
The broader European stock markets trimmed gains in the afternoon, after data showed the number of Americans who filed for unemployment benefits rose by 10,000 last week to 354,000, exceeding the 345,000 level expected by analysts.
Meanwhile, U.S. growth for the first quarter was revised lower to 2.4% from an initial estimate of 2.5%.
Investors have been closely monitoring data coming out of the U.S., after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke last week said that an improvement in data could trigger the central bank to start tapering its asset purchases in coming months. The bank currently buys bond worth $85 billion a month and analysts have credited the aggressive easing strategy as one of the main reasons global equity markets in recent weeks have climbed to multiyear highs.
“So the question now is how the Fed will read today’s data? It’s unlikely to change the FOMC’s stance of reducing or increasing the pace of asset purchases and more likely to keep them on hold at the next policy meeting and provide little or no details on when and how the central bank will eventually dial back stimulus measures,” said Ishaq Siddiqi, market strategist at ETX Capital, in a note.
“For now, it’s short term respite and an opportunity to pick up stocks battered in the selloff in price-action over the past few sessions since the Fed’s meeting minutes last week,” he added.
U.S. stocks opened mixed on Wall Street.
On the data front in the euro zone, the European Commission said the Economic Sentiment Indicator for the region picked up 0.8 points to 89.4 in May.
Among notable movers, mining firms were on the rise, tracking metals prices higher. Shares of Rio Tinto PLC UK:RIO +1.57% AU:RIO -1.35% RIO +1.45% added 1.3% in London and Anglo American PLC UK:AAL +1.27% gained 0.9%.
The U.K.’s FTSE 100 index UK:UKX +0.34% climbed 0.1% to 6,634.19.
Germany’s DAX 30 index DX:DAX +0.82% put on 0.5% to 8,380.05, while France’s CAC 40 index FR:PX1 +0.89% rose 0.6% to 3,997.22.
Outside the major indexes, Statoil ASA NO:STL +0.91% gained 1%, after Credit Suisse upgraded the oil firm to neutral from underperform.
SBM Offshore NV NL:SBMO -2.01% , on the other hand, dropped 2%, after Morgan Stanley cut the oil-services firm to underweight from equal-weight. Read: Ahead of OPEC meeting, oil-services firms drop on broker downgrade
Sara Sjolin is a MarketWatch reporter based in London. Follow her on Twitter @sarasjolin.
