European Markets Extended Gains On Hopes Brexit Will Be Avoided

(RTTNews) - The European markets ended Thursday's session in the green, bringing its winning streak to five sessions. The gains were fueled by optimism that the U.K. will remain part of the European Union, following the results of recent polls.

Two new polls suggested that the "Remain" campaign has taken the lead in Britain's referendum on EU membership. Voting got underway at 7 a.m. London time and the final results will be out on Friday. Investor optimism drove the pound sterling to a 2016 high.

The unconventional policy measures adopted by the European Central Bank cannot continue forever and should not be used for longer than necessary, ECB Executive Board Member Yves Mersch said Thursday.

"There are limits on how far monetary policy can go," Mersch said in a speech in Paris. "The ECB cannot, will not, and need not exceed these limits."

Unconventional tools should not be used for longer than necessary, and no more intensively than necessary, he said. The longer unconventional policy lasts, the greater the risk of distortions appearing and diminishing its effectiveness over time, the policymaker warned.

The Euro Stoxx 50 index of eurozone bluechip stocks increased 2.00 percent, while the Stoxx Europe 50 index, which includes some major U.K. companies, added 1.13 percent.

The DAX of Germany climbed 1.85 percent and the CAC 40 of France rose 1.96 percent. The FTSE 100 of the U.K. gained 1.23 percent and the SMI of Switzerland finished higher by 0.64 percent.

In Frankfurt, Commerzbank increased 4.01 percent and Deutsche Bank added 2.88 percent.

ThyssenKrupp leaped 5.10 percent and Salzgitter advanced 4.68 percent.

Volkswagen climbed 2.80 percent and BMW rose 2.36 percent. Daimler also finished higher by 1.69 percent.

In Paris, Societe Generale increased 5.15 percent and Credit Agricole rose 4.06 percent. BNP Paribas also closed up by 2.88 percent.

Peugeot advanced 4.76 percent and Renault gained 4.31 percent.

In London, Royal Bank of Scotland Group rose 1.58 percent on reports it has received bids for its Greek ship finance business.

Standard Chartered increased 2.03 percent and Lloyds Banking Group gained 2.27 percent. Barclays also climbed 2.72 percent.

Supermarket chain Tesco jumped 0.81 percent after reporting a second consecutive quarter of higher sales.

Packaging firm DS Smith soared 6.62 percent after it reported a marginal rise in pre-tax profit during the year to April.

Mining stocks turned in a solid performance due to rising copper prices. Antofagasta climbed 3.60 percent and Anglo American gained 3.61 percent. Glencore advanced 2.75 percent and BHP Billiton added 1.96 percent.

Eurozone private sector activity expanded at the weakest pace in 17 months in June, flash survey results from Markit showed Thursday. The flash composite output index dropped to 52.8 in June from 53.1 in May. This was the lowest reading since January of last year.

Germany's private sector expanded at a slower pace in June, flash survey results from Markit showed Thursday. The composite output index fell to 54.1 in June from 54.5 in May.

The French private sector activity contracted in June, flash survey results from Markit showed Thursday. The flash composite Purchasing Managers' Index fell to a 4-month low of 49.4 from 50.9 in May.

French manufacturing confidence weakened more-than-expected in June, marking its second successive monthly decrease, figures from the statistical office Insee showed Thursday. The manufacturing confidence index fell to 102.0 in June from 104.0 in the previous month. Economists had expected the index to drop to 103.0.

After reporting a rebound in first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits in the previous week, the Labor Department released a report on Thursday showing that initial jobless claims pulled back by much more than expected in the week ended June 18th.

The report said initial jobless claims fell to 259,000, a decrease of 18,000 from the previous week's unrevised level of 277,000. Economists had expected jobless claims to edge down to 270,000.

On the heels of a sharp jump in the previous month, new home sales in the U.S. pulled back in the month of May, the Commerce Department revealed in a report on Thursday. The report said new home sales fell by 6.0 percent to an annual rate of 551,000 in May from the downwardly revised April rate of 586,000.

Economists had expected housing starts to slump by 8.7 percent to a rate of 565,000 from the 619,000 originally reported for the previous month.

Primarily reflecting a sharp increase in initial jobless claims, the Conference Board released a report on Thursday showing an unexpected decrease in its index of leading U.S. economic indicators. The Conference Board said its leading economic index edged down by 0.2 percent in May after climbing by 0.6 percent in April.

The modest decrease by the leading index came as a surprise to economists, who had expected the index to rise by 0.2 percent.