European stocks, euro climb amid subdued Thanksgiving trading

European stock markets rose on Thursday after rallies in Tokyo and on Wall Street but trading was subdued amid Thanksgiving in the United States, dealers said. London's benchmark FTSE 100 index edged up 0.02 percent to 6,651.13 points in early afternoon deals. Frankfurt's DAX 30 climbed 0.32 percent to 9,380.96 points and in Paris the CAC 40 won 0.11 percent to 4,297.83 compared with Wednesday's close. "EU confidence and German unemployment (data) provided little excitement, with both numbers in line with forecasts," he added. In foreign exchange, the euro rose to $1.3590 from $1.3576 late in New York on Wednesday. It also jumped to 139.14 yen -- the highest level since June 2009. On the London Bullion Market, the price of gold fell to $1,241.28 an ounce from $1,245 on Wednesday. Asian stock markets ended higher on Thursday -- with Tokyo hitting a near six-year peak -- following a Wall Street rally, while the yen sank on comments from a Japanese central banker hinting at further monetary easing, traders said. Tokyo's main stocks index jumped 1.80 percent to 15,727.12 points -- the highest level since mid-December 2007 -- as exporters benefited from the softening yen. The euro continued to be supported by news that German Chancellor Angela Merkel had finally agreed a deal to form a coalition government to lead Europe's biggest economy. Thomas Cook shares soar In company activity, shares in Thomas Cook soared in trading on Thursday after the British travel firm announced a large reduction in annual losses as a result of deep cost-cutting. Thomas Cook's share price rocketed 12.64 percent to stand at 172.56 pence on London's second tier FTSE 250 index, which was up only slightly. The surge came after Thomas Cook said net losses dropped to £199 million ($324 million, 239 million euros) in the year to the end of September from £585.7 million in 2011/12. It posted its first operating profit also since 2010. In Frankfurt, German energy provider RWE gained 0.77 percent to 28.27 euros after its British unit Npower announced plans to cut about 1,460 jobs in Britain and outsource customer service operations to India. The job losses are in addition to 6,700 posts set to go across RWE by 2016 and announced by the German group earlier this month. On the downside house builders in Britain slid after the government said it was ending a scheme that has helped to boost mortgage lending by banks, with Persimmon shedding 4.49 percent to 1,190 pence. Kingfisher, Europe's biggest home-improvements retailer, slumped 5.28 percent after the company said it was hit by tough trading in France, adding however that overall group sales had managed to advance in the third quarter.