European Markets Close Higher On Thursday

(RTTNews) - The major European markets used a late rally to overcome a slow start in Thursday's trade, finally finishing higher for the third straight day.

The lackluster start to the day was spurred by uncertainty over U.S. trade policy and geopolitical risks. Diplomats from Iran and the United States are to meet in Geneva for the third round of nuclear negotiations in a last-ditch effort to prevent a conflict.

Germany's DAX climbed 113.08 points or 0.45 percent to finish at 25,289.02, while the FTSE in London added 40.29 points or 0.37 percent to close at 10,846.70 and the CAC 40 in France improved 61.86 points or 0.72 percent to end at 8,620.93.

In Germany, Heidelberg Materials plunged 4.95 percent, while Deutsche Borse rallied 3.61 percent, Siemens Energy stumbled 2.69 percent, Fresenius Medical spiked 2.56 percent, Deutsche Telekom tanked 2.23 percent, BASF vaulted 1.49 percent, Deutsche Bank climbed 1.44 percent, Vonovia advanced 0.89 percent, Deutsche Post added 0.77 percent and Infineon Technologies lost 0.65 percent.

In London, Antofagasta plummeted 4.38 percent, while Experian surged 4.36 percent, Haleon soared 4.31 percent, Rightmove spiked 3.38 percent, Rolls-Royce rallied 3.24 percent, easyJet jumped 3.07 percent, Airtel Africa tumbled 2.85 percent, Vodafone retreated 2.68 percent, St. James Place expanded 2.64 percent, Tesco sank 1.46 percent, Prudential gained 0.97 percent, Shell rose 0.43 percent and British American Tobacco collected 0.35 percent.

In France, Worldline skyrocketed 12.92 percent, while Engie surged 7.23 percent, Schneider Electric soared 3.00 percent, Orange tumbled 1.25 percent, Societe Generale slumped 1.23 percent, Vivendi climbed 1.10 percent, Carrefour sank 0.87 percent, Veolia Environnement added 0.20 percent, Sanofi rose 0.11 percent, BNP Paribas slipped 0.07 percent and Credit Agricole perked 0.05 percent.

In economic news, Eurozone economic confidence weakened in February due to the significant drop in sentiment among services providers, survey data from the European Commission showed Thursday. The economic sentiment index fell unexpectedly to 98.3 in February from 99.3 in the prior month. The score was forecast to rise to 99.8.

Eurozone bank lending to businesses slowed in January, while growth in loans to households remained stable, the European Central Bank said Thursday. Adjusted loans to businesses grew at a pace of 2.8 percent in January, which was weaker than December's 3.0 percent increase. At the same time, loans to households increased at a steady pace of 3.0 percent.

Finland's producer prices increased at the fastest pace in nearly three years in January after a renewed fall in the previous month, data from Statistics Finland showed on Thursday. The producer price index climbed 1.9 percent on year in January, reversing a 0.8 percent decrease in December.