European Markets Close To The Upside On Thursday

(RTTNews) - The major European markets endured a choppy trading day on Thursday, bouncing back and forth across the unchanged line before finally settling with mild gains.

Investors were peppered throughout the session with economic data that was mixed to weak but strengthened a positive outlook for interest rates.

The DAX in Germany added 78.90 points or 0.48 percent to finish at 16,617.29, while London's FTSE gained 40.4 points or 0.53 percent to close at 7,723.07 and the CAC 40 in France rose 38.77 points or 0.52 percent to end at 7,450.63.

In Germany, Zalando plunged 4.13 percent, while Siemens Energy soared 2.47 percent, Bayer spiked 2.41 percent, Deutsche Bank rallied 2.20 percent, Infineon Technologies stumbled 2.05 percent, Deutsche Telekom advanced 0.81 percent, Daimler Truck sank 0.72 percent, Deutsche Post lost 0.39 percent and Vonovia eased 0.07 percent.

In London, Frasers Group plummeted 3.56 percent, while BAE Systems jumped 1.90 percent, Tesco rallied 1.54 percent, British American Tobacco strengthened 1.44 percent, Vodafone and M&G both climbed 1.35 percent, Entain dropped 1.20 percent, St. James Place added 1.11 percent, Rolls-Royce gained 1.02 percent, Prudential rose 0.55 percent and Haleon was up 0.46 percent.

In France, Engie surged 2.16 peent, while Atos tumbled 3.55 percent, BNP Paribas accelerated 2.01 percent, Societe Generale jumped 1.71 percent, Credit Agricole improved 1.45 percent, Carrefour gained 0.93 percent, Sanofi added 0.92 percent, Worldline shed 0.83 percent, Orange rose 0.32 percent and Vivendi perked 0.19 percent.

In economic news, German inflation accelerated for the first time in six months in December, provisional data from Destatis showed on Thursday. The consumer price index saw an annual increase of 3.7 percent in December, following a 3.2 percent rise in November.

The euro area private sector contracted for the seventh straight month in December with the largest economies becoming the biggest drags, final survey results from the purchasing managers' survey by S&P Global showed on Thursday. The final HCOB composite output index held steady at 47.6 in December. The flash reading was 47.0. A PMI score below 50.0 indicates contraction.

France inflation accelerated in December on rising costs of energy and services, provisional data from the statistical office INSEE showed on Thursday. The consumer price index posted an annual increase of 3.7 percent in December, following a gain of 3.5 percent in November. EU harmonized inflation advanced to 4.1 percent, from 3.9 percent in the prior month.