By Sara Sjolin, MarketWatch
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- With most markets closed for May Day,
Europe's benchmark stock index inched higher Thursday, supported by
well-received earnings reports from U.K. majors Lloyds Banking
Group and BSkyB.
The Stoxx Europe 600 index rose 0.2% to 338.50, recovering from
a loss of the same amount on Wednesday. The majority of the
region's stock markets closed to observe the May Day holiday,
including markets in France, Germany, Italy and Spain.
It was business as usual in the U.K., where the FTSE 100 index
gained 0.4% to 6,808.87, posting its highest close in almost two
months.
Shares of Lloyds Banking Group PLC (LYG) buoyed the index with
their climb of 5.5%. The bank said first-quarter adjusted profit
rose 22% as bad loans declined in an improving U.K. economy. Read:
Best stocks to play a thriving U.K. economy
British Sky Broadcasting Group PLC jumped 2.3% after the
cable-TV provider said demand for new products pushed up revenue in
the nine months ended March 31.
Meanwhile, the pound (GBPUSD) climbed against the U.S. dollar
after the Markit/CIPS manufacturing PMI for the U.K. beat
expectations in April, rising to a five-month high of 57.3. The
pound bought $1.6900, and traded as high as $1.6921, up from
$1.6871 late Wednesday.
Also, U.K. lender Nationwide said its monthly house-price index
rose to its highest level in six-and-a-half years, and prices are
now close to their previous peak.
The OMX Copenhagen 20 index fell 0.3%, feeling the weight of a
1.9% decline in heavyweight Novo Nordisk AS shares (NVO). The
world's largest insulin maker reported a rise in first-quarter
earnings, but cut its sales guidance for the full year.
Also in Copenhagen, shares of Danske Bank AS advanced 1.6% after
the bank said profit in the first quarter almost doubled.
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