UKX FTSE 100 Index

By Sara Sjolin, MarketWatch

Pound jumps after U.K. retail sales beat forecasts

European stocks shook off early weakness to close firmly higher Thursday, getting a boost from an upbeat session in the U.S. ahead of a key vote on a health-care bill.

After a wobbly start to the day, the Stoxx Europe 600 index ended 0.9% higher at 377.20, marking its first gain in four sessions.

"Things took on a far greener hue after the U.S. open, [with] solid gains from the Dow Jones leading to growth in Europe," said Connor Campbell, financial analyst at Spreadex, in a note.

Read:Stock-market gains accelerate as investors make bets ahead of health-care vote (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/wall-street-stocks-lined-up-for-cautious-moves-ahead-of-yellen-speech-health-care-vote-2017-03-23)

"The day's main event is still to come: the House of Representatives' vote on 'Trumpcare'. While things like the Muslim travel ban have shown the kind of resistance the president can expect, the health care bill marks the first real test of Trump's ability to deliver the reforms he promised during the election," he added.

"If the bill fails, and there is plenty to suggest that not all Republicans are on board, then the markets may take that as a sign that Trump's tax and infrastructure claims may not amount to much either."

Stocks fought for direction earlier on Thursday, as investors digested the latest selloff in the U.S. and Europe. Analysts said the weakness came as the "Trump trade" that has pushed stock markets higher in recent months started to dwindle ahead of the health-care bill.

Movers: Next PLC (NXT.LN) jumped 8.1% after the fashion retailer maintained its final dividend at GBP1.05 and confirmed its guidance for the current year (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/fashion-retailer-next-posts-drop-in-profit-2017-03-23).

Credit Suisse Group AG (CSGN.EB) (CSGN.EB) fell 2% after media reports said (http://www.reuters.com/article/us-credit-suisse-gp-ipo-swiss-idUSKBN16U1VX)that the company is considering a $3 billion share sale (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/credit-suisse-shares-drop-2-on-reports-of-3-billion-share-sale-2017-03-23) instead of a separate listing of its Swiss banking unit.

Gemalto NV (GTO.AE) fell 3.8%, building on a 17% loss from Wednesday when the digital security firm cut its financial guidance.

ECB's cheap loan: Eurozone banks snapped up 233.5 billion euros ($251.58 billion) in free long-term loans from the European Central Bank in the last round of the Targeted Longer-Term Refinancing Operations, known as TLTRO. The program provides banks with four-year interest-free loans in a bid to spur lending to households and businesses.

Indexes: The U.K.'s FTSE 100 index rose 0.2% to 7,340.71. Investors in London were still digesting the terrorist attack in London on Wednesday afternoon, which left four people, including the attacker, dead and dozens injured.

Read:Eight arrested in six raids as police probe London terror attack (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/seven-arrested-in-six-raids-as-police-probe-london-terror-attack-2017-03-23)

The pound jumped as high as $1.2531, from $1.2484 late Wednesday in New York, after data showed U.K. retail sales jumped 1.4% in February (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/uk-retail-sales-surge-14-in-february-2017-03-23). That's more than the 0.4% increased forecast by analysts.

Germany's DAX 30 index rose 1.1% to 12,039.68, while France's CAC 40 added 0.8% to 5,032.76.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

March 23, 2017 13:11 ET (17:11 GMT)

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