European markets moved higher on Thursday morning, with steady gains through the week taking the regional benchmark to its latest intraday record high.
The Stoxx 600 index was firmer by 0.3% at 10:37 a.m. in London, hitting yet another all-time high this month as it rose above 513 points for the first time. Travel stocks led gains with a 1% uptick, while financial services slipped 0.6%.
On the final day of a holiday-shortened trading week, investors are monitoring earnings from Lloyd’s of London and a trading update from JD Sports Fashion.
On the data front, gross domestic product figures confirmed that the U.K. economy fell into a recession in 2023 with a 0.3% contraction in the final quarter. Germany’s statistics agency meanwhile said employment nudged fractionally higher in February.
Globally, U.S. stock futures were trading near the flatline overnight as the S&P 500 approached its best first-quarter performance in five years. Investors stateside are awaiting data on jobless claims, gross domestic product and consumer sentiment Thursday.
Overnight in the Asia-Pacific region, Japan stocks fell the most among Asian markets while Australian stocks hit a record high, helped by a boost from mining shares.
