European Markets Recovered In Late Trade On Greek Optimism

(RTTNews) - The European markets ended Thursday's session with mixed results. The markets had been under pressure earlier in the session due to a strengthening euro, mixed economic reports and earnings. However, the markets staged a comeback in late trade on reports that Greece is willing to make concessions to achieve a deal with its international lenders.

With time running short, the Greek government is holding talks with its lenders in Brussels on a reform package. Athens has reportedly signaled that it is willing to sell a majority stake in its two biggest ports. Greece is also said to be willing to compromise on value-added tax rates and some pension reforms. The talks are expected to continue through the weekend. The Greek government hopes to form an interim agreement by next week.

The Euro Stoxx 50 index of eurozone bluechip stocks increased by 0.19 percent, while the Stoxx Europe 50 index, which includes some major U.K. companies, lost 0.31 percent.

The DAX of Germany climbed by 0.19 percent and the CAC 40 of France rose by 0.14 percent. The FTSE of the U.K. gained 0.21 percent, but the SMI of Switzerland finished lower by 0.31 percent.

In Frankfurt, Deutsche Börse AG climbed by 2.64 percent. The stock exchange operator raised its full-year revenue and earnings forecasts after reporting double-digit revenue growth in the first quarter.

Bayer gained 0.70 percent, after raising its full-year earnings forecast.

In Paris, Vallourec plunged by 9.25 percent. The steel-pipe maker slipped to a net loss in the first quarter and unveiled plans to cut around 20 percent of its European workforce.

Alcatel-Lucent sank by 9.66 percent, after Nokia's weak first quarter report. Nokia is in the process of taking over Alcatel-Lucent.

BNP Paribas fell by 1.59 percent, despite posting better-than-expected 17.5 percent growth in first-quarter net income, driven by strong performance at its corporate and investment banking business.

In London, Shire increased by 0.85 percent, after its first quarter profit came in stronger than expected.

Royal Dutch Shell gained 0.37 percent, after its first quarter earnings climbed.

Royal Mail surged by 5.29 percent, after PostNL announced that it has ended talks with LDC on expanding PostNL's "Whistl" subsidiary in Britain.

Royal Bank of Scotland dropped by 3.15 percent, after it posted a loss for the first quarter.

Shares of Nokia sank by 10.71 percent in Helsinki, after it posted a 61 percent decline in first-quarter profit at its main telecom network equipment business

Eurozone unemployment rate remained unchanged for a second straight month in March, at its lowest level in nearly three years, preliminary data from Eurostat showed Thursday. The seasonally adjusted jobless rate was 11.3 percent, unchanged from both February and January. Economists had forecast a decline in the rate to 11.2 percent.

Eurozone consumer prices remained flat in April as expected by economists after falling for four consecutive months, flash data from Eurostat showed Thursday. Consumer prices dropped 0.1 percent in March and 0.3 percent in February.

The Eurocoin indicator, which aims to reflect the current economic situation in Eurozone, rose for the fifth month running in April to its highest level in ten months, a survey by the Bank of Italy and the Centre for Economic Policy Research showed Thursday. The indicator climbed to 0.33 from 0.26 in March. The score was the highest since June last year, when the score was 0.31.

Germany's retail sales unexpectedly declined for a second straight month in March, preliminary figures from the statistical office Destatis showed Thursday. Retail sales fell a calendar-and-seasonally adjusted 2.3 percent from February, when they dropped 0.1 percent. Economists had expected a 0.5 percent gain for March. The latest decrease was the biggest in more than a year.

German unemployment declined less than expected in April, the Federal Labor Agency reported Thursday. The number of people out of work declined by seasonally adjusted 8,000 to 2.79 million in April. It was forecast to fall by 15,000.

France's consumer spending declined for the first time in five months in March and at a faster than expected pace, mainly due to a slump in energy consumption, preliminary data from the statistical office INSEE showed Thursday. Household consumption of goods dropped 0.6 percent from February, when they grew 0.2 percent, which was revised up from 0.1 percent. Economists were looking for a 0.5 percent fall.

France's producer prices continued to decline in March, figures from the statistical office INSEE showed Thursday. Producer prices for the French market fell 2.2 percent year-over-year in March, but slower than previous month's 2.6 percent decline.

Spain's economic growth accelerated in the first quarter, preliminary data from the statistical office INE showed Thursday. Gross domestic product grew 0.9 percent sequentially, faster than the prior quarter's 0.7 percent expansion and a 0.8 percent rise forecast by economists. The economy expanded for the seventh consecutive quarter.

In an upbeat sign for the labor market, the Labor Department released a report on Thursday showing that first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits pulled back to their lowest level in fifteen years in the week ended April 25th.

The Labor Department said initial jobless claims dropped to 262,000, a decrease of 34,000 from the previous week's revised level of 296,000. Economists had expected jobless claims to edge down to 288,000 from the 295,000 originally reported for the previous week.

While the Commerce Department released a report on Thursday showing a continued increase in U.S. personal spending in the month of March, the report also said personal income was unexpectedly flat.

The report said personal spending rose by 0.4 percent in March following an upwardly revised 0.2 percent increase in February. Economists had expected spending to climb by 0.5 percent compared to the 0.1 percent uptick originally reported for the previous month.

Meanwhile, the Commerce Department said personal income inched up by less than a tenth of a percent in March after increasing by 0.4 percent in February. Income had been expected to rise by 0.2 percent.

Pointing to a positive start to the second quarter, MNI Indicators released a report on Thursday showing a substantial rebound in Chicago-area business activity in the month of April. MNI Indicators said its Chicago business barometer jumped to 52.3 in April from 46.3 in March, with a reading above 50 indicating an expansion. Economists had expected the barometer to climb to 50.0.