European Shares Inch Higher On German Data

(RTTNews) - European stocks edged higher on Thursday after German GDP data for second quarter came in better than expected, lifted by household and government spending.

German GDP grew 0.1 percent sequentially and 1.8 percent year-on-year, beating expectations for stagnation in the three months to June, data showed.

Additionally, the country's Ifo business confidence fell in August but topped expectations.

Investors shrugged off separate data showing that confidence among the French manufacturers weakened further as expected in August.

The European Central Bank releases the accounts of the monetary policy meeting of the governing council held on July 20 and 21 later today that are likely to sound hawkish.

The pan European Stoxx 600 climbed 0.6 percent to 434.53 after closing 0.2 percent higher on Wednesday.

The German DAX rose 0.6 percent, while France's CAC 40 index and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 both added around half a percent.

Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield, a dynamic global developer and operator of Flagship Destinations, rallied 3.3 percent after it completed the sale of Westfield Santa Anita in Arcadia, California in a $537.5 million deal.

Novartis AG rose 0.6 percent on news it would spin off Sandoz and list the biosimilars unit on the Swiss stock exchange.

BP Plc jumped 2.2 percent and Shell added 1.7 percent in London as oil prices rose for the third day on mounting supply tightness concerns.

Miner Rio Tinto rose 0.7 percent after raising its offer to take direct control of the huge Oyu Tolgoi copper mine in Mongolia.

AstraZeneca gained 1.6 percent. The Anglo-Swedish pharmaceutical company said that its Lynparza treatment has been approved in Japan for the treatment of early breast cancer after positive Phase 3 results.

Hunting Plc, an international energy services group, jumped nearly 18 percent after narrowing its interim loss.

Veolia shares rose over 1 percent in Paris after the U.K. Competition and Markets Authority ordered that the French waste management firm must sell most of the operations it took over in the U.K. when it acquired Suez.

German online food-delivery firm Delivery Hero tumbled 3 percent after posting a wider loss for the first-half.