By Carla Mozee, MarketWatch
European stocks moved higher Thursday after an unexpected
decline in U.S. jobless claims somewhat blunted the euro's advance
against the U.S. dollar.
The Stoxx Europe 600 was up 0.4% to 396.94, with all but the
telecoms group modestly gaining. Telefonica SA dropped 2.1%, as
analysts pointed to a lackluster performance in the company's
domestic operations. Quarterly profit overall rose to 1.8 billion
euros
(http://www.wsj.com/articles/telefonica-boosted-by-gain-after-o2-sale-1431584569).
But TalkTalk Telecom Group PLC's shares were among the Stoxx
600's strongest performers, up 2.8% as the firm raised its
revenue-growth target
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/talktalk-ups-revenue-growth-target-as-profit-rises-2015-05-14).
Major stock indexes throughout the session had vacillated in and
out of the red, with volume lower overall as some European bourses
were closed for the Ascension Day holiday
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/which-markets-are-closed-for-ascension-day-2015-05-14).
But major European benchmarks turned solidly higher in afternoon
trade after data showed U.S. weekly jobless claims dipped and
remained at a 15-year low
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/jobless-claims-dip-to-264000-remain-at-15-year-low-2015-05-14).
Economists polled by MarketWatch had expected claims to rise to a
seasonally adjusted 275,000.
Germany's DAX 30 shot up 1.1% to 11,478.02, after having earlier
in the day fallen by as much as 1.2%. In Paris, the CAC 40 rose
0.9% to 5,005.85, and in London, the FTSE 100 rose 0.2% to
6,960.35.
At the same time, the euro (EURUSD) traded at $1.1396, falling
below the $1.14 level it had reached earlier Thursday for the first
time since late February. Strengthening in the euro has recently
been a source of pressure for equities, particularly for the
export-oriented German market.
"Because jobless claims are staying pretty consistent and they
are strong, optimism for dollar bulls will continue that the
Federal Reserve can raise interest rates," said Jameel Ahmad, chief
market analyst at FXTM.
On Wednesday, the dollar (DXY) was punished after
weaker-than-expected U.S. economic data underscored expectations
the Federal Reserve will wait until later in the year to make its
first interest-rate hike since 2006.
Equities, meanwhile, "aren't so much at risk for interest-rate
hikes because the pace of rate hikes by the Federal Reserve is
going to be extremely slow," said Ahmad. "As the European Central
Bank, the People's Bank of China and the Reserve Bank of Australia
have eased monetary policy, there is still cheap money for
investors."
Read: Fed's rate-hike path, not timing, is what matters, says
Schwab strategist
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/schwab-strategist-says-hike-path-not-timing-is-what-to-focus-on-2015-05-13)
The euro had fallen earlier after Greek Finance Minister Yanis
Varoufakis on Thursday said Greece's debt repayments to the
European Central Bank should be pushed back to "the distant
future,"
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/greek-finance-minister-calls-for-ecb-repayment-delay-2015-05-14)
Reuters reported. Athens on Tuesday made a 750-million-euro ($836.7
million) loan repayment to the International Monetary Fund, but did
so by raiding an emergency account.
Greece's Athex Composite pared its gains to 0.4% at 831.04.Greek
bond prices jumped, pushing the yield on two-year debt down 54
basis points to 19.59%, and the yield on 10-year debt down 5 basis
points at 10.34%.
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