European stocks rebounded Thursday as Germany's 5G auction drove the telecoms index higher, while a tanker incident caused oil prices to surge.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 recovered from a 0.2% fall after the bell to rise 0.2% during the morning session. Telecoms stocks led gains with a 0.7% rise after Germany's 5G auction, while oil and gas stocks also climbed 0.6%.
Oil prices rebounded more than 3% Thursday morning amid reports of a tanker incident in the Gulf of Oman.
International benchmark Brent crude traded at around $61.70 during morning deals, up nearly 3%, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) stood at $52.53, up more than 2.7%.
U.S. President Donald Trump struck a slightly more positive tone on the U.S.-China trade war Wednesday, but again threatened to increase tariffs on Chinese goods if no deal is agreed, deeming relations between the world's two largest economies "testy" and doing little to assuage global trade fears.
In Asia, stocks mostly fell Thursday afternoon after a second straight day of declines on Wall Street. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index closed 1.73% lower amid violent clashes between protesters and riot police over a controversial extradition bill.
U.K. lawmakers on Wednesday rejected the main opposition Labour party's bid to block a no-deal Brexit by seizing control of the parliamentary agenda from the government. Meanwhile, the favorite to succeed Prime Minister Theresa May, eurosceptic former Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, launched his Conservative party leadership bid with a promise to take Britain out of the EU on October 31, with or without a deal.
Conservative Members of Parliament (MPs) will cast their first ballots for a new leader Thursday.
In mainland Europe, French President Emmanuel Macron announced plans to reduce unemployment benefits for high earners and offer incentives to those working beyond normal retirement age, two major components of a reform drive resulting from months of "yellow vest" protests.
The Swiss National Bank (SNB) is set to release its financial stability report and monetary policy assessment Thursday, while a Eurogroup meeting of eurozone finance ministers takes place in Luxembourg.
In corporate news, Germany has raised 6.55 billion euros ($7.4 billion) in its auction of spectrum for 5G mobile services, the Federal Network Regulator (BNetzA) said after a contest lasting nearly three months that will see a fourth operator enter the market.
That fourth operator was German telecommunications provider 1&1 Drillisch, which saw its share price climb 10% in early trade as investors reacted to the news. Shares of United Internet, 1&1 Drillisch's parent company, also rose by 8.4% during the morning session.
At the other end of Europe's blue chip index, British copper producer Aurubis tumbled 11.2% in early deals after its CEO was dismissed amid rising project costs.

Sumber : CNBC