European Stocks Pare Early Gains, Close On Mixed Note

(RTTNews) - European stocks pared early gains and ended on a mixed note on Thursday as investors continued to assess the likely moves of central banks with regard to interest rates in the wake of recent economic data, and the minutes of the Federal Reserve's latest monetary policy meeting released on Wednesday.

The minutes of the Federal Reserve's latest policy meeting showed policymakers expect to maintain interest rates at current levels longer than previously thought.

The pan European Stoxx 600 edged up 0.07%. Germany's DAX and France's CAC 40 cred up 0.06% and 0.13%, respectively, while the U.K.'s FTSE 100 ended down by 0.37%. Switzerland's SMI ended up 0.07%.

Among other markets in Europe, Austria, Denmark, Greece, Netherlands, Norway and Sweden ended higher.

Belgium, Finland, Iceland, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Spain and Turkiye closed weak.

In the UK market, St. James's Place gained about 4.8%. Scottish Mortgage, Rolls-Royce Holdings, Persimmon, Ocado Group, Schrodders, Taylor Wimpey, BAE Systems, Barclays Group, Marks & Spencer, Barratt Developments and Melrose Industries climbed 1.4 to 3.5%.

Hargreaves Lansdown soared 13.4% after the investment platform rejected a surprise takeover offer from a group of private equity buyers.

National Grid shares tanked nearly 11% after the electricity and gas utility unveiled plans to raise about 7 billion pounds ($8.9 billion) through a fully underwritten rights issue of 1.09 billion new shares.

RS Group plunged 6.5%. Severn Trent dropped 5.15% and United Utilities ended nearly 5% down.

Smith & Nephew, Whitbread, Flutter Entertainment, Unite Group, Croda International, Centrica, Land Securities, Sainsbury (J) and Natwest Group lost 2 to 3.1%.

Aviva drifted lower by 2.1% despite reporting strong results for its first quarter.

In the German market, MTU Aero Engines, Fresenius, Siemens Energy, HeidelbergCement and Siemens gained 2 to 3.1%. Rheinmetall, SAP and Infineon also ended notably higher.

Puma, Bayer, Vonovia, Zalando, E.ON, Deutsche Telekom, Porsche, Munich RE, Deutsche Post and Adidas ended lower by 1 to 3%.

In the French market, Capgemini rallied nearly 3%. Publicis Groupe, Legrand, Saint Gobain, Safran, Schneider Electric and Thales gained 1 to 2%.

Eurofins Scientific ended down more than 3.5%. Teleperformance, Edenred, Dassault Systemes, Pernod Ricard and Engie lost 1 to 3%.

On the economic front, the euro area private sector activity grew at the fastest pace in a year in May on bigger increases in new orders, employment and an improvement in business confidence, flash survey data from S&P Global showed.

The flash composite output index posted 52.3 in May, up from 51.7 in the previous month. The score was also above economists' forecast of 52.0.

France's private sector unexpectedly contracted in May after returning to growth in the previous month, flash survey results from S&P Global showed. The headline HCOB flash composite output index dropped to 49.1 in May from 50.5 in April. The reading was forecast to climb to 51.0.

With the reading falling below the neutral 50.0, the sector moved from expansion to the contraction territory in May.

Germany's private sector expanded at the fastest pace in a year in May, flash survey results from S&P Global showed. The flash HCOB composite output index rose more-than-expected to 52.2 in May from 50.6 in April. The expected score was 51.0.

The UK private sector economy signaled a further expansion in May amid a renewed upturn in manufacturing.The composite output index dropped to 52.8 in May from April's 1-year high of 54.1. The overall growth in the British private sector was attributed to a strong rebound in manufacturing production, as the PMI climbed to a 22-month high of 51.3 from 49.1 in the previous month.