The broad-based major European markets were mixed in Thursday's trading session, as mining stocks rebounded from losses earlier in the week.
In economic news, unemployment rates were found to vary widely across the EU regions, according to a report published by Eurostat. The lowest European unemployment rates were found in the southwest German city of Freiburg and Bavaria's Niederbayern at just 2.5%.
Melilla, a Spanish autonomous city located on the north coast of Africa, had the highest unemployment rate at 34%, followed by Andalucia in Southern Spain at 31.5%.
Among the regions, 54 had an unemployment rate of 5% or less in 2014, half the average of 10.1 %. They were dominated by regions of Germany and the UK. Another 29 regions had a rate higher than 20.2 %, including 13 in Spain, 12 in Grece and four in Italy.
In Germany, the Federal Statistical Office reported that the nation's inflation rate as measured by the consumer price index is expected to rise 0.1% in April 2016. It also reports that the consumer prices are expected to decline by 0.2% from March 2016.
And in Spain, the Instituto Nacional de Estadistica (INE) reported that the annual inflation of the CPI in April 2016 declined 1.1%. This decrease is attributed to the decrease in the prices of package holidays and electricity.
In company news, natural resource and mining companies were the biggest gainers on the FTSE as Anglo American, Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton rose 8.1%, 4.3%, and 2.1% respectively.
The DAX in Frankfurt was buoyed by Deutsche Bank, which gained 4%, followed by steel maker ThyssenKrupp, which moved 3.2% higher. Shares of semiconductor company Infineon Technologies and automaker Volkwagen AG increased 2.1% and 2.2%, respectively.
And on the Paris Bourse, aviation stocks helped push the CAC-40 lower, as the Airbus Group fell 4.6% in Thursday's trading. Safran SA, an aircraft and aerospace company, lost 1.5%. Tire manufacturer Michelin was down 2%
The FTSE edged up 0.04%, the DAX added 0.21% higher, and the CAC-40 declined 0.04%.
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The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
