Europe close: Stocks continue pushing higher

(Sharecast News) - European stocks continued to diverge from their peers on Wall Street, as investors eyed an emergency meeting of European leaders to discuss the war in Ukraine and after the European Central Bank cut rates again.

The pan-regional Stoxx 600 index drifted lower by 0.03% to 555.90, but ended the day well off its lows.

Germany's Dax on the other hand added 1.47% to 23,149.48, while the Italian FTSE Mib was up by 0.68% at 38,779.67.

Brent crude slipped, while euro/dollar and 10-year Bund yields advanced.

EU leaders were expected to respond to a decision by the US to suspend military aid and intelligence sharing to Ukraine in what diplomats said was an effort to strong arm Kyiv into signing a deal on minerals.

The 27-nation bloc would also discuss a ramp up in defence spending as the new arms race develops momentum.

In economic news, the volume of retail sales in the euro area fell 0.3% in January month-on month.

Meanwhile, the eurozone's troubled construction sector contracted sharply in February, a closely-watched survey showed on Thursday.

February's HCOB Eurozone construction PMI total activity index came in at 42.7, down sharply on January's 45.4 and the steepest drop in output for three months. A reading above the neutral 50.0 benchmark suggests growth, while one below it indicates contraction.

In equity news, Deutsche Post surged 14% after the DHL owner unveiled plans to cut ¬1bn in costs by axing 8,000 jobs and increasing its share buyback.

Lufthansa took off, climbing 12% as its annual results came in ahead of estimates. Shares in Air France-KLM were also sky high as the group's full-year profit beat expectations.

On the downside, French gambling company La Française des jeux slumped after net profits fell 6%.