Italy outperformed European shares on Thursday as a result of better-than-expected GDP data that showed a 0.4% increase of its economy in Q1.
According to a source familiar with the matter, the US President Donald Trump will announce at 1900 GMT on Thursday if the United States is to support the Paris climate accord.
Ford Motor revealed its vehicle sales in the US rose 2.2% to 241,126 units in May, while General Motors' report showed a 1.3% decline to 237,364 cars sold.
The EIA report showed that US crude oil inventories dropped 6.4M barrels last week, following the prior week's 4.4M barrels fall, while analysts expected a 2.7M barrels decrease.
US Construction Spending fell 1.4% in April from the upwardly revised 1.1% gain in March, reflecting weakness in homebuilding and government projects.
The ISM survey showed the US Manufacturing PMI rose to 54.9 in May, beating forecasts for a slight decrease to 54.7, with growth reported in 15 of the 18 industries.
On Thursday, the President Vladimir Putin stated that Russia was set for selling the advanced S-400 missile systems to Turkey, a bargain that was previously discussed in Ankara.
US private companies created 253K new positions last month compared to downwardly revised 174K in April, whereas analysts anticipated a gain of 181K new jobs.
A self-driving car tech company Mobileye posted a 66% jump to $124.7M in the Q1 revenue amid higher demand for its driver assisted systems.
According to Markit, UK manufacturing activity declined to 56.7 in May, almost meeting analysts' expectations for 56.5 and following to the prior month's 57.3 reading.
Spanish anti-corruption prosecutor Manuel Moix, who conducted a graft probe linked to People Party's members, resigned on Thursday after facing harsh criticism for holding an interest in Panama's offshore company.
On Thursday, Deere announced about its intention to acquire German private road construction firm Wirtgen Group for $5.2B.
Western Digital plans to invest in construction of a new flash memory chip factory in the Western Japan amid the intention to express its commitment to the country.
Markit reported on Thursday that Manufacturing activity in the Euro zone remained at 57.0 in May, meeting analysts' expectations.
The Dallas Fed President Robert Kaplan said that the US consumer spending risks getting weaker, due to Trump administration's harsh measures towards illegal immigrants, as they are believed to be staying at homes and not spending any funds in fear of getting deported.
On Thursday, George Soros, a billionaire and a business magnate, stated that Brexit talks are bound to last longer than two years and, thus, could distract the EU from adapting new vital reforms, as he believed the bloc faces an existential crisis.
The leader of Norway's Labour Party Jonas Gahr Stoere stated he would not hold trade talks with Britain until it concluded a divorce deal with Brussels.
Elon Musk affirmed that he would leave Donald Trump's advisory councils in case the President withdrew the US from the Paris climate deal.
The private equity group CVC Capital Partners hit record-high by raising $17.98B as the investors scrambled to invest into leveraged buyouts.
On Thursday, a French prosecutor opened an inquiry into the business and financial dealings of the President Emmanuel Macron election campaign's head Richard Ferrand after some wary news reports on his financial operations.
Apple has started production of its Siri-controlled smart speaker, deemed to debut at the company's June annual conference; however, the device is not likely to enter the market earlier than this year's end.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics reported that Australia's retail sales rose 1.0% in April from the preceding month's downwardly revised reading of -0.2%.
The social media companies like Twitter, YouTube and Facebook came closer to a goal to eliminate hate speech and any other insulting content on their platforms following the EU order to tackle the issue as fast as possible.
On Wednesday, a Malaysia Airlines flight from Melbourne to Kuala Lumpur was forced to turn back after a disruptive passenger tried to enter the cockpit, according to a statement from the airline.