European Shares Rebound After Two Days Of Losses

European stocks were seeing modest gains on Thursday after two days of selling on inflation and interest-rate concerns.

Unemployment across the eurozone has fallen to a new record low in April while a measure of economic sentiment ticked up in May, separate data showed earlier today.

Eurostat data showed the euro-area seasonally adjusted unemployment rate fell from 6.5 percent to 6.4 percent in April, below expectation of 6.5 percent.

The euro area economic sentiment indicator ticked up from 95.6 to 96.0 in May, matching expectations.

The pan European STOXX 600 was up 0.3 percent at 515.21 after falling 1.1 percent on Wednesday.

The German DAX, France’s CAC 40 and the U.K.’s FTSE 100 were up between 0.1 percent and 0.3 percent.

Italy’s Banco BPM rallied 2.5 percent. CEO Giuseppe Castagna said that there are “no conditions today” to merge with rival lender Monte dei Paschi.

Telecommunications firm Telecom Italia slumped 6.7 percent despite posting higher revenue for the first quarter and backing its full-year guidance.

Miner BHP shed 0.6 percent after it declined to walk away from a $49 billion plan to take over Anglo American. Shares of the latter edged up slightly.

Auto Trader Group, a leading automotive trading place, surged 11.5 percent after reporting full-year results ahead of expectations.

Shares of De La Rue jumped 4.1 percent. The banknote maker confirmed discussions with a number of certain parties, who have made proposals in relation to, or expressed interest in, either of the Group’s divisions.

VINCI shares rose 1.1 percent in Paris. The French concessions and construction company announced that it has received a new works contract worth A$159 million or approximately 96 million euros for Melbourne Airport in Australia.

Bayer shares rallied 2 percent. The German pharmaceutical and life sciences major announced that its clinical stage cell therapy unit BlueRock Therapeutics LP’s investigational cell therapy bemdaneprocel to treat Parkinson’s disease has received the U.S. FDA’s Regenerative Medicine Advanced Therapy or RMAT designation.

Science and technology major Merck KgaA declined 1.7 percent. The company has signed a non-binding MOU with the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology to further progress in life sciences advance scientific collaboration.

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