Europe close: Stocks up as US data revive soft landing hopes

(Sharecast News) - European stocks jumped on Thursday following the release of stronger-than-expected readings for US retail sales and weekly jobless claims that some economists said pointed to the likelihood of a soft landing in the States. The pan-regional Stoxx 600 index was up 1.15% at 509.88, alongside a 1.66% jump for Germany's Dax to 18,183.24.

France's Cac-40 meanwhile added 1.23% to end the day at 7,423.37.

According to the Department of Commerce, retail sales volumes in the US surged by 1.0% month-on-month in July (consensus: 0,3%).

Weekly initial unemployment claims slipped by 7,000 over the week ending on 10 August to reach 227,000 (consensus: 235,000).

Front-dated Brent crude oil futures rose 1.24% to $81.0 a barrel on the ICE while euro/dollar fell back 0.38% to 1.0972.

In European equity news, Admiral shares surged over 6% as the UK insurer reported a jump in half-year profits and paid a special dividend to shareholders.

Dutch payments company Adyen soared 12% as it beat half-year core profit expectations driven by market share gains, slower hiring and lower one-off expenses.

Orsted fell 7% after the offshore wind farm developer reported second-quarter results.