BRUSSELS/FRANKFURT/PARIS (dpa-AFX) - European stocks closed higher on Thursday although the volume of business remained thin in most of the markets in the region due to Thanksgiving holiday in the U.S. Investors digested Germany's consumer price inflation data and tracked corporate news for direction.
The pan European Stoxx 600 gained 0.46%. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 edged up 0.08%, Germany's DAX climbed 0.85% and France's CAC 40 cloed up 0.51%, while Switzerland's SMI ended higher by 0.57%.
Among other markets in Europe, Austria, Denmark, Finland, Ireland, Netherlands, Portugal, Russia, Spain and Sweden closed higher.
Belgium and Iceland edged up marginally, while Greece, Norway, Poland and Turkiye ended flat.
In the UK market, Spirax Group climbed about 3.75%. Sainsbury (J), Admiral Group, EasyJet, Entain, Barclays Group and Tesco gained 2 to 3.1%.
IAG gained more than 2% as the insurance giant agreed to buy 90% of Royal Automobile Club of Queensland's (RACQ's) existing insurance underwriting business. Direct Line Insurance soared more than 40% after rejecting Aviva's massive takeover bid.
SSE, Centrica, JD Sports Fashion, Natwest Group, RightMove, Weir Group, Auto Trader Group, Pershing Square Holdings, Rolls Royce Holdings and Legal & General advanced 1 to 2%.
Vistry Group, Land Securities, Imperial Brands, Aviva, Frasers Group, Berkeley Group Holdings, Reckitt Benckiser, Persimmon, Endeavour Mining and Croda International closed notably lower.
In the German market, Siemens Energy gained about 3.1%, while RWE, Daimler Truck Holding and Deutsche Bank gained 2 to 2.7%.
HeidelbergCement moved higher after it struck a deal to buy U.S. company Giant Cement Holding and its subsidiaries for $600 million.
E.ON, Commerzbank, Bayer, Siemens and Sartorius also closed with strong gains. Volkswagen gained marginally after the German car giant said that it would sell its factory and test track in Xinjiang for 'economic reasons.'
Fresenius Medical Care ended down nearly 2.5%. Qiagen, Merck, Puma and Beiersdorf also closed weak.
In the French market, Airbus gained more than 4%. Teleperformance, Edenred, Accor, Veolia, ArcelorMittal, Thales, Vinci, Societe Generale, Stellantis, Engie, Renault and BNP Paribas closed up 1 to 3%.
Vivendi, L'Oreal, Essilor, Kering and LVMH ended with sharp to moderate losses.
On the economic front, Germany's consumer price inflation increased further in November to the highest level in four months, provisional data from Destatis showed.
The consumer price index registered an annual increase of 2.2% in November, following a 2% rise in October. Economists had expected an increase of 2.3%.
The slowdown in the decline of energy prices had an upward effect on inflation. The yearly decrease in energy costs softened to 3.7% from 5.5%. Meanwhile, food prices rose at a slower pace of 1.8% versus 2.3% in October. On a monthly basis, consumer prices dropped 0.2% in November, as expected.
Eurozone lending to the private sector increased in October at a steady pace, data published by the European Central Bank showed. Adjusted loans to the private sector grew 1.6% year-on-year in October, unchanged from the previous month.
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