Europe midday: Shares rise on upbeat data; Bayer surges on Roundup ruling

(Sharecast News) - European shares were higher as data from the US allayed fears of a potential recission, while upbeat retail sales figures in the UK also boosted sentiment. The pan-regional Stoxx 600 index was up 0.27% at 511.80, rounding off a more positive week for equities after the recent sell-off.

US markets all closed sharply higher overnight as unemployment claims in the US dipped unexpectedly during the previous week. According to the Department of Labor, in seasonally adjusted terms first time jobless claims fell by 7,000 over the week ending on 10 August to reach 227,000. Economists had forecast a slight rise to 235,000.

Retail sales in the world's biggest economy also jumped last month, driven by a rebound in auto purchases. According to the Department of Commerce, in seasonally adjusted terms, retail sales volumes shot 1.0% higher month-on-month to reach $709.7bn. That followed a revised 0.2% decline in June, but was more than twice the 0.3% gain projected by economists.

In the UK, retail sales rebounded to 0.5% growth in July from a 0.9% decline in the previous month, in line with expectations.

On the equities front, shares in Nibe were up as the Swedish heat pump maker reported first-half earnings.

Shares in German chemicals maker Bayer also jumped after a US appeals court said it was protected under federal law which would limit liability from claims that its Roundup weed killer causes cancer.

The case was brought by David Schaffner, a Pennsylvania landscaper diagnosed with non-Hodgkins lymphoma in 2006, who claimed the Bayer had failed to provide a cancer warning on the label of Roundup.

However, the US Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia ruled that the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act required nationwide uniformity in pesticide labels, and stopped Pennsylvania from adding a cancer warning.

Shares in video game maker Embracer Group rallied a day after the company reported a sharp fall in first-quarter sales.

Reporting by Frank Prenesti for Sharecast.com