(MENAFN- AFP) European stock markets rose on Thursday and the euro recovered from a fresh eight-month low against the dollar following positive regional data.
Traders said that markets had already priced in looming European Union sanctions against Russia, while shares were helped also by robust Chinese manufacturing data.
London's benchmark FTSE 100 index edged up 0.09 percent to stand at 6,804.25 points around midday, while in Paris the CAC 40 jumped 0.72 percent to 4,407.78 with analysts saying it was boosted by strong eurozone purchasing managers' data.
Frankfurt's DAX 30 index gained 0.47 percent to 9,799.33 points compared with Wednesday's close .
Madrid's IBEX 35 surged 1.45 percent in the wake of official data showing that the unemployment rate in Spain fell sharply in the second quarter - slipping beneath 25 percent.
"Eurozone growth rebounded in July," the private Markit research group, which published the eurozone PMI data, said while warning that the crisis in Ukraine is clouding the outlook.
Markit's chief economist Chris Williamson said the latest figures suggested that the eurozone economy was growing "at one of the strongest rates we have seen in the past three years."
But France was lagging behind and its economy was "stagnating at best," he said.
"There were positive figures out of the eurozone ... with July's manufacturing PMI coming in at 51.9, beating the 51.7 estimate," said Daniel Sugarman, market strategist at trading group ETX Capital.
HSBC bank meanwhile said its preliminary purchasing managers' index of Chinese manufacturing activity for this month jumped to 52.0 from a final reading of 50.7 in June. Anything above 50 indicates growth.
In Paris, shares in energy engineering group Technip plunged 8.36 percent to 71.23 euros after the company said it expected profitability in its onshore/offshore division to be weaker than expected owing to geopolitical risks for its giant Yamal gas project in the Russian Arctic.
Shares in French software group Dassault Systemes jumped 5.28 percent to 49.51 euros on the SBF secondary market after the group stood by a target for the year of raising sales by 14-15 percent.
But stock in market research group Ipsos plunged 17.90 percent to 22.78 euros after a profits warning, owing to setbacks in the Americas in part because the World Cup football competition had caused companies to delay research.
In Brussels meanwhile, the EU was looking at punishing Russia, which it accuses of fanning the rebellion in Ukraine's east by arming the separatists.
The European Union looks set to follow Washington's lead by announcing a new round of even tougher sanctions against Moscow on Thursday.
- Euro rallies from falls -
The action being taken against Moscow has hit the euro in recent days, resulting in it falling to multi-month low points.
On Thursday, the European single currency hit a new eight-month low against the dollar at $1.3438. It later recovered to $1.3482, compared with $1.3462 late in New York on Wednesday.
The euro rose to 79.23 British pence from 78.99 on Wednesday. The pound dropped to $1.7016 from $1.7040.
The price of gold slid to $1,297.67 an ounce on the London Bullion Market from $1,308 on Wednesday.
In London, gains to banking shares and for miners helped to offset heavy falls to home improvements firm Kingfisher and no-frills airline Easyjet.
Kingfisher shed 7.47 percent to 310.9 pence after revealing poor trading figures for France, while Easyjet lost 4.90 percent to 1,335 pence as its forecast for higher annual profits were below market expectations.
''Despite having issued its second profit upgrade this year, EasyJet has undershot market expectations for the latest number, with the result that the shares have come under pressure," said Richard Hunter, head of equities at Hargreaves Lansdown Stockbrokers.
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