The European stock markets jumpers for the fourth straight day on Thursday with the hopes that the coronavirus or COVID-19 pandemic was close to peaking, with investor attention also focused on the meeting of the EU finance ministers for discussing an economic rescue package.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index got up by 1.2 percent at 0702 GMT, while battered travel and also leisure stocks .SXTP, autos .SXAP and miners .SXPP getting early gains.
Benchmark index has rebounded more than 5% this week
The benchmark index has rebounded more than five percent this week and recouped about $1.7 trillion in market value since hitting an eight-year low in March but is still about 24 percent below its record high, as sweeping lockdown measures crush business activity and spark mass layoffs.
The number of US jobless claims — the most timely data on economic health — likely totalled a staggering 15 million in the last three weeks, and economists expect US job losses of up to 20 million in April.
Meanwhile, European Union finance ministers are set to resume talks on a half-a-trillion euro economic support package on Thursday after failing to reach an agreement earlier this week. Oil and gas stocks .SXEP bounced 1.9 percent ahead of a meeting of the world's largest oil producers to discuss production cuts.
(With agency inputs)
