European stock indexes strengthen on the background of corporate reports

On Thursday, European stock indexes showed growth, helped by fresh corporate reports and the publication of economic statistics from Germany. According to the latest trading data, the British FTSE 100 rose to 8,754.75 points. The French CAC 40 rose to 7,573.91 points, while the German DAX strengthened at 23,628 points.

The shares of the Swedish retail chain Hennes & Mauritz (H&M) stood out among the large companies, which grew by more than 5% in Germany. Despite a 16.7% decrease in the company's operating profit for the second quarter compared to the same period last year, the total amount was 5.914 billion crowns ($620 million), which was close to the forecast of 5.88 billion crowns.

In addition to corporate news, investors' attention was attracted by data from the research company GfK regarding consumer confidence in Germany. As of July, the confidence index dropped to minus 20.3 points compared with the revised June value of minus 20 points. However, the same indicator, reflecting current economic expectations, showed steady growth, reaching 20.1 points against 13.1 points a month earlier.