European Stocks Move Higher On U.S.-Iran Ceasefire Hopes

(RTTNews) - European stocks moved modestly higher on Thursday amid optimism the upcoming talks between officials from Iran and the U.S. will result in a potential resolution to the Middle East conflict.

According to reports, the warring nations are considering extending the ceasefire by two weeks in order to allow more time for talks.

Investors also digested corporate earnings updates and the latest batch of economic data from the region.

The pan European Stoxx 600 was up 0.15% at 618.22 a little while ago. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 advanced to 10,592.71, gaining 33.13 points or 0.31%. Germany's DAX was up 55.60 points or 0.23% at 24,143.02, while France's CAC 40 gained 29.43 points or 0.36% at 8,304.00

In the German market, Zalando moved up 3.2%. SAP gained about 2.3% and Brenntag climbed nearly 2%. Beiersdorf, MTU Aero Engines and Heidelberg Materials gained 1%-1.3%.

Qiagen, Merck, Deutsche Telekom, Mercedes-Benz, Daimler Truck Holding, BMW and Volkswagen lost 0.5%-1.6%.

In Paris, Dassault Systemes moved 2.2% up. Capgemini, Teleperformance, Saint-Gobain, Airbus, Publicis Groupe and Michelin gained 1.2%-2%.

Kering drifted down 1.7%. L'Oreal, ArcelorMittal, TotalEnergies and Engie also showed weakness.

In the UK market, Entain jumped 7.5%, thanks to the company maintaining its revenue outlook. Halma, B&M European Value Retail, Vistry Group, Frasers Group, JD Sports Fashion, Pershing Square Holdings, RightMove and Persimmon gained 2%-3.5%.

Tesco moved up sharply after the company reported strong sales and profit growth, and announced a 500 million pound buyback.

EasyJet dropped by about 5% amid uncertain situation in the Middle East. Airtel Africa, Convatec Group, Unite Group, Vodafone and Antofagasta lost 1.6%-2%.

In economic news, data from the Office for National Statistics showed UK's gross domestic product logged a monthly growth of 0.5% in February, outpacing the 0.1% expansion in January. Economists had forecast the growth to remain unchanged at 0.1%. Compared to the same period last year, GDP advanced 1% in February.

On the production-side, the dominant service sector expanded 0.5% and construction output advanced 1% in February.

Industrial production grew 0.5%, following successive falls of 0.1% in January and a 0.4% drop in December. Meanwhile, manufacturing output edged down 0.1%, reversing January's 0.2% increase.

On a yearly basis, industrial production slid 0.4% and manufacturing dropped 0.5% in February.

Eurozone inflation accelerated more than initially estimated in March, reaching its strongest level since mid-2024, final data from Eurostat showed.

The harmonized index of consumer prices rose 2.6% on a yearly basis in March. This was revised up from the initial estimate of 2.5% and followed a 1.9% rise in February.