European Stocks Close Higher On Fed Rate Cut Hopes

(RTTNews) - European stocks closed higher on Thursday with some of the markets in the region climbing to multi-week highs, amid positive global cues after U.S. private sector jobs data raised expectations of a rate cut by the Federal Reserve next week.

Ukraine peace talks were also in focus despite inconclusive talks in Moscow. U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff will meet the head of Ukraine's national security council, Rustem Umerov, for talks in Miami today, the White House has confirmed.

President Trump said the talks - also attended by his son-in-law Jared Kushner - were "reasonably good", but it was too soon to say what would happen because "it does take two to tango."

Automobile stocks posted strong gains on some rating upgrades.

The pan European Stoxx 600 climbed 0.28%. Germany's DAX and France's CAC 40 gained 0.74% and 0.38%, respectively. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 settled flat. Switzerland's SMI ended up by 0.27%.

Among other markets in Europe, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Iceland, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Spain and Sweden closed higher.

Ireland, Netherlands and Turkiye ended weak.

In the UK market, 3i Group climbed 5.1%. Burberry Group, Spirax Group, JD Sports Fashion, Rolls-Royce Holdings, BAE Systems, Ashtead Group, Antofagasta, ICG and Mondi gained 2 to 3%.

Marks & Spencer, Pershing Square Holdings, WPP, BT Group, Halma, Beazley, Compass Group, M&G and Berkeley Group Holdings also posted strong gains.

Future Plc shares soared 11% in early trades, but pared some gains subsequently. After a difficult 2025 marked by weaker advertising demand and a slowdown in price comparison searches, the specialist media group forecast "modest organic revenue growth" in the year to September 2026.

Entain and Diageo both ended nearly 4% down. Auto Trader Group, LSEG, RightMove, Coca-Cola Europacific Partners, SSE, IAG, Airtel Africa and AstraZeneca lost 1 to 2.3%.

In the German market, Porsche Automobil and Daimler Truck Holding gained 5.7% and 5.6%, respectively. Mercedes-Benz climbed about 4.5% and BMW rallied 4.2%. Volkswagen gained about 2.7%.

Siemens Energy, SAP, Commerzbank, Deutsche Post, Hannover Rueck, Qiagen, Fresenius, Rheinmetall and Adidas also closed notably higher.

BASF, Bayer, Scout24, Continental, E.ON and Deutsche Boerse ended sharply lower.

In the French market, Renault climbed 6%. Capgemini, STMicroElectronics, Stellantis, Schneider Electric, Societe Generale, TP, BNP Paribas, Publicis Groupe and Legrand also moved up sharply.

EssilorLuxottica, Pernod Ricard, Sanofi, Carrefour, Safran, Veolia Environment and Engie lost 0.7 to 2%.

Data from S&P Global showed Germany's construction sector continued to contract in November but the pace of decline softened due to the rise in civil engineering activity.

The HCOB construction Purchasing Managers' Index registered 45.2 in November, down from October's seven-month low of 42.8. A score below 50.0 indicates contraction in the sector.

A report from the Federal Motor Transport Authority said new car sales in Germany rose by 2.5% year-on-year to 250,671 units in November 2025, following a 7.8% increase the month before.

Data from Eurostat showed Eurozone retail sales were flat in October, following a modestly revised 0.1% increase in September. On an annual basis, however, retail sales increased 1.5% in October, up from 1.2% in September and slightly above the expected 1.3% increase.

The HCOB Eurozone Construction PMI rose to 45.4 in November 2025 from 44.0 in October, a report from S&P Global showed.

Data from S&P Global showed the HCOB Construction PMI in France rose to 43.6 in November from 39.8 in the prior month. This marked the 42nd consecutive month of contraction in the French construction sector, and although the downturn eased somewhat, it still remained sharp.

The HCOB Eurozone Construction PMI rose to 45.4 in November 2025 from 44.0 in October, a report from S&P Global showed.

Data from Eurostat showed Eurozone retail sales were flat in October, following a modestly revised 0.1% increase in September. On an annual basis, however, retail sales increased 1.5% in October, up from 1.2% in September and slightly above the expected 1.3% increase.

In economic news, the S&P Global UK Construction PMI fell to 39.4 in November from 44.1 in October, pointing to the steepest downturn in UK construction output for five-and-a-half years, amid challenging market conditions, data from S&P Global showed.