European stocks climbed for the first time in five days, rebounding from a two-week low, on confidence that accommodative central-bank policies will help support the economy.
Almost every western-European market rose, while the yield on 10-year German bonds, already negative, slipped for a second day.
In Ireland, the Iseq Overall Index rose by 0.5 per cent to 6,069.49 amid thin volumes.
Dublin
Bank of Ireland fell by 2.2 per cent to 18.2 cent, albeit on a day when trading volumes in the stock were only at about one-third of normal levels.
Shares in Ryanair rose by 1.5 per cent to €12.015 on improved market sentiment for the sector.
News that 888 Holdings and Rank Group had abandoned plans to bid for William Hill, the UK's biggest bookmaker, failed to halt Paddy Power Betfair's gallop. The Irish bookmaker rose by 1.4 per cent on the day to close at €113.10.
Among other gainers, property group Hibernia Reit closed up 2.2 per cent, recruiter CPL finished 2 per cent ahead, and drinks company C&C closed the day 0.5 per cent higher.
London
UK stocks snapped a two-day decline as mining companies rallied on higher metals prices.
Antofagasta led gains with a 5.3 per cent jump, while BHP Billiton added 2.8 per cent as a weaker dollar boosted commodity prices.
Among stocks moving on corporate news, Premier Oil climbed 2.6 per cent after raising its full-year output guidance.
Kingfisher reversed an earlier decline to rise 1.9 per cent after reporting better-than-expected second-quarter sales.
The FTSE 100 Index of large companies added 0.1 per cent to 6,868.96 at the close of trading in London. The FTSE 250 Index of mid-cap firms rose 0.6 per cent.
Europe
Germany’s Dax Index, which came close to erasing its annual drop on Monday, rose 0.6 per cent, with steelmaker Thyssenkrupp helping lead the gains.
The UK’s FTSE 100 Index added 0.1 per cent, paring an advance of as much as 0.5 per cent, as the pound strengthened after a report showed that retail sales unexpectedly surged in July.
Among stocks moving on corporate news, Vestas Wind Systems jumped 9.9 per cent after raising its annual guidance.
Dutch insurer NN Group, spun off by ING Groep through an initial public offering two years ago, rallied 8.8 per cent after reporting an improved capital position.
Denmark’s Jyske Bank advanced 2.4 per cent as it raised its share buyback programme, while DFDS surged 6 per cent after the shipping company posted earnings that beat projections.
William Hill fell 1.5 per cent as 888 Holdings and Rank Group abandoned plans to bid for the UK’s biggest bookmaker after it rejected an increased offer from them.
Dutch shipping firm Royal Boskalis Westminster fell 4.5 per cent as its revenue slipped. Norwegian salmon producer Marine Harvest slid 3 per cent as its earnings missed estimates.
Swisscom AG lost 1.6 per cent as it said it see a decline in revenue excluding its Fastweb unit. Airbus Group dropped 1.4 per cent after Bank of America lowered its rating on the shares to the equivalent of a sell.
New York
Wall Street pared earlier gains and was little changed in early afternoon trading on Thursday, as a drop in technology stocks offset gains in energy companies on the back of higher oil prices.
Wal-Mart also helped prop up the market, rising as much as 3.1 per cent to a more than 14-month high of $75.19 after the retailer’s better-than-expected quarterly profit.
However, a decline in technology stocks, led by Cisco, helped overwhelm most of the gains.
Cisco fell 1.7 per cent to $53.57 after the network equipment provider said it would cut 5,500 jobs and gave a disappointing forecast.
Investors also weighed up minutes of the Federal Reserve’s July meeting, released on Wednesday, that showed policymakers were divided over whether to raise interest rates in the near-term.
At 12:41pm, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 30.89 points, or 0.17 percent, at 18,543.05. The S&P 500 was down 0.94 points, or 0.04 per cent, at 2,181.28. The Nasdaq Composite was down 1.51 points, or 0.03 per cent, at 5,227.14.
Additional reporting by Bloomberg and Reuters
