Major equity markets in Europe closed mostly higher on Thursday as investors weighed the trajectory of economic recovery from the coronavirus crisis. Bank of England voted unanimously to keep the interest rates and the bond-buying stimulus scheme at the same level. United Kingdom's services growth reached a seven-year high in April.

Meanwhile, the European Central Bank (ECB) said that the "persistingly high" rates of COVID-19 infection make the near-term economic outlook somewhat "clouded". However, Eurozone's and European Union's retail trade rose by around 2.7%. Amid earnings season Volkswagen and ArcelorMittal posted their positive financial results.

The DAX closed with 0.17% above the flatline, led by Muench. Rueckvers. increasing by 2.31%. The FTSE 100 gained 0.52% as Fresnillo PLC jumped by 6.24%, while the CAC 40 rose by 0.29% with Societe Generale growing by 5.46%. The euro advanced by 0.42% against the dollar, exchanging hands for $1.20571, while the British pound slid by 0.19% to trade for $1.38803 at 5:27 pm CET.