European stocks close after upbeat earnings

European stock markets closed on an upbeat note on Thursday as traders reacted to a string of earnings updates, data pointing to further easing of eurozone economic strains, and fresh takeover speculation. Stock indices got a boost from well-received profits news from Apple and Facebook on Wednesday following the close of trading on Wall Street, analysts said, and New York markets were up on Thursday. London’s benchmark FTSE 100 index ended the day 0.42 per cent up at 6,703 points. Germany’s DAX 30 closed slightly up 0.05 per cent at 9.548.68 points, with data revealing that German business confidence rebounded this month, after a slight fall in March in Europe’s biggest economy when companies worried about the Crimea crisis. In Paris, the CAC-40 rose 0.64 per cent to 4,479.54 points. And in Madrid, the IBEX 35 gained 0.36 per cent to 10,462 points after Spain’s central bank said the country’s economy grew at the fastest pace for six years in the first quarter of 2014, according to AFP.