European stocks close higher ahead of Easter

Europe's main stock markets closed higher on Thursday ahead of the Easter weekend, shaking off early losses as investors kept a wary eye on diplomatic talks over the Ukraine crisis.

London's FTSE 100 ended up 0.62 percent compared to Wednesday's closing level, at 6,625.25 points.

Germany's DAX 30 rose 0.99 percent to finish the day at 9,409.71 points and the CAC-40 in Paris gained 0.59 percent to close on 4,431.81 points.

European stock markets had rallied on Wednesday as strong company earnings, well-received Chinese growth data and a positive start on Wall Street offset jitters over the Ukraine crisis, traders said.

In a volatile week's trading, shares had ended sharply lower on Tuesday as the escalating military crisis in Ukraine spooked investors.

"Stocks in Europe traded with a general positive bias today as investors weren't inclined to aggressively change positions before their Easter holidays," said Jasper Lawler, a market analyst at CMC Markets.

Even "menacing comments from Russian president Vladimir Putin that Russia had the right to place its army in foreign countries and that eastern Ukraine was historically part of Russia failed to move markets lower," he added.

Putin on Thursday accused Ukraine's new authorities of driving the country towards the abyss, saying he hoped he would not have to send Russian troops into the country.

Meanwhile, French President Francois Hollande warned that the EU could strengthen its sanctions against Russia if there is no progress at talks in Geneva on the Ukraine crisis.

European bank stocks gained, with Barclays leading the pack to end up 4 percent at 247.05 pence after it announced an update on its plans to strengthen its business, including a continuing cost-cutting programme.

In Paris, shares in advertising giant Publicis ended up 1.33 percent to 63.89 euros after the firm reported a 2.2-percent rise in first-quarter sales figures, pointing to a return to growth after a difficult period in 2013.

- US trades sideways -

In the US, markets inched down as poor earnings from Google and IBM set the tone despite solid quarterly reports from Goldman Sachs and General Electric.

The weak sentiment was also evident in the overnight IPO of Sina Weibo, the Chinese microblogging service, which was undersubscribed at the low end of its pricing range, raising $286 million.

In mid-afternoon trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.15 percent at 16,400.77.

The broad-based S&P 500 inched up 0.01 percent to 1,862.48, while the Nasdaq Composite lost 0.02 percent at 4,085.53.

Google fell 4.0 percent after reporting late Wednesday a 32 percent rise in profits in the first quarter, missing analyst estimates, while IBM lost 3.36 percent after reporting earnings slumped more than a fifth.

"One reason for the sell-off in the US stock market in the first half of this month appears to have been concern that valuations in the technology sector are stretched," said Capital Economics.

Shares in Goldman Sachs gained 0.77 percent to $158.43 after the investment bank reported lower quarterly profits due to declines in key trading divisions, but notched a big gain in financial advisory services.

General Electric shares rose 2.14 percent to $26.68 after it reported a 15 percent fall in net income to $3.0 billion, though its industrial sales rose from last year thanks to gains in its two largest industrial segments.

- Euro firms -

In foreign exchange deals, the euro rose to $1.3837 from $1.3815 late in New York on Wednesday.

The European single currency rose to 82.30 British pence from 82.25 pence, while the pound advanced to $1.6811 from $1.6795 on Wednesday.

On the London Bullion Market, the price of gold decreased to $1,299 an ounce from $1,301.50 on Wednesday.

Asian stocks markets closed mixed on Thursday as a positive report on the US economy and the Federal Reserve chief's pledge to keep interest rates at record lows were offset by profit-taking after the previous day's gains.

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