European Markets Finished Mixed After Early Gains Erode

(RTTNews) - The European markets were up sharply in early trade Thursday, extending the gains of the previous session. However, the markets pared their gains in the afternoon and ended the session with mixed results.

OPEC countries agreed to modest oil output cuts at their informal meeting in Algiers yesterday, the first such deal since 2008. The surprise announcement brought crude oil prices up to around $47 a barrel, which provided a boost to energy stocks.

Spanish economic growth this year is set to be better than expected earlier, though the pace of expansion is likely to ease in the next two years, as the impact of supporting factors weaken, the Bank of Spain said Thursday.

Gross domestic product is set to grow 3.2 percent this year, which was faster than the 2.7 percent forecast in June, the bank said in a report.

"Behind this revision lies the more favorable course of activity in both Q2 and the rest of the year, compared with expectations in June," the bank said in the report.

The pan-European Stoxx Europe 600 index dipped 0.00 percent. The Euro Stoxx 50 index of eurozone bluechip stocks increased 0.02 percent, while the Stoxx Europe 50 index, which includes some major U.K. companies, added 0.03 percent.

The DAX of Germany dropped 0.31 percent, but the CAC 40 of France rose 0.26 percent. The FTSE 100 of the U.K. gained 1.02 percent, but the SMI of Switzerland finished lower by 0.68 percent.

In Frankfurt, Commerzbank tumbled 3.05 percent after the lender unveiled plans to slash 9,600 jobs and suspend dividends as part of a broader revamp exercise.

In Paris, Total jumped 4.15 percent and Technip surged 7.57 percent.

In London, Royal Dutch Shell leaped 5.23 percent and BP climbed 4.34 percent. Tullow Oil also soared 9.84 percent.

Daily Mail & General Trust advanced 2.10 percent. The company, which owns the Daily Mail and several other publications, has warned of further cost cutting after reporting a 4 percent increase in revenues for the eleven months to August on a reported basis.

Capita Group plunged 26.72 percent. The outsourcing group trimmed its forecast for fiscal 2016 results, citing a slowdown in specific trading businesses, certain one-off costs and continued delays in client decision-making.

Pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk lost 3.45 percent in Copenhagen after it announced intention to reduce its workforce by approximately 1,000 employees.

Shares of telecom giant Telefonica gained 0.59 percent in Madrid. The Wall Street Journal reported that media companies Time Warner and Viacom are among bidders for a potential acquisition of its Argentine television broadcaster Telefe.

Eurozone economic sentiment rebounded strongly to an eight-month high in September from a five-month low in the previous month, mainly driven by the improvement in industrial and retailers' confidence, survey data from the European Commission showed Thursday.

The economic sentiment index climbed to 104.9 from 103.5 in August. Economists had forecast an unchanged reading.

German consumer prices rose at the fastest pace in 16 months during September, preliminary data from Destatis showed Thursday. The consumer price index climbed 0.7 percent year-on-year following 0.4 percent increase in the each of the previous two months. Economists had forecast 0.6 percent inflation.

Germany's unemployment rate held steady in August as the number of those without jobs eased, figures from Destatis showed Thursday. The seasonally adjusted jobless rate based on ILO norms was 4.2 percent, unchanged from July, results of the labor force survey showed. The figure was 4.5 percent in the same month last year.

German unemployment increased unexpectedly in September, reports said citing the Federal Labor Agency on Thursday. The number of people out of work increased by 1,000 to 2.68 million, confounding expectations for a decrease of 5,000.

The jobless rate remained unchanged at a seasonally adjusted 6.1 percent, the lowest since the German reunification. The rate came in line with expectations.

Spanish retail sales declined for the first time in three months during August, preliminary data from the statistical office INE showed Thursday. Retail sales decreased 0.9 percent from July, when they rose 0.6 percent. The latest drop was the first since May, when sales fell at the same pace.

U.K. mortgage approvals declined in August to the lowest since late 2014, the Bank of England reported Thursday. The number of mortgages approved in August dropped to 60,058 from 60,925 in July. This was the lowest since November 2014, when mortgages totaled 59,392. The level was expected to fall to 60,200 in August.

Primarily reflecting upward revisions to non-residential fixed investment, private inventory investment, and exports, the Commerce Department released a report on Thursday showing that U.S. gross domestic product increased by more than previously estimated in the second quarter.

The report said second quarter GDP climbed by 1.4 percent compared to the previously reported 1.1 percent increase. Economists had expected the pace of GDP growth to be upwardly revised to 1.3 percent.

First-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits rose by less than expected in the week ended September 24th, according to a report released by the Labor Department on Thursday. The report said initial jobless claims edged up to 254,000, an increase of 3,000 from the previous week's revised level of 251,000.

Economists had expected jobless claims to climb to 260,000 from the 252,000 originally reported for the previous week.

After reporting a jump in U.S. pending home sales in the previous month, the National Association of Realtors released a report on Thursday showing a sharp pullback in pending home sales in the month of August.

NAR said its pending home sales index tumbled by 2.4 percent to 108.5 in August after surging up by 1.2 percent to a revised 111.2 in July. Economists had expected pending sales to come in roughly flat.