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European equities tentative as pound makes brief rally

Britain's pound surged after judges ruled London needed parliamentary approval to trigger Brexit

European stocks made little headway Thursday amid a flurry of company earnings reports, while a rally by the British pound after better-than-expected economic growth data proved short lived.

"Stock markets are going through a period of churn as investors digest a slew of corporate results, notably from European banks and US tech firms," Jasper Lawler, analyst at CMC Markets, said in an investors' note.

"The FTSE 100, like the other main European indices, reversed early losses to make small gains, helped by a rebound in oil prices," he added.

London stocks closed 0.4 percent higher, while Frankfurt's DAX was up 0.1 percent, and the CAC in Paris was little changed, at 0.02 percent lower.

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Sterling bounced after official data showed that Britain's economy grew by 0.5 percent in the three months following the country's referendum in favour of exiting the European Union.

The currency shot as high as $1.2272 and strengthened to just above 89 pence against the euro in morning deals, before trimming gains.

Capital Economics' John Higgins said the GDP figures as well as Japanese carmaker Nissan's decision to continue investing in Britain and a breakthrough on a Canada-EU trade pact "have not assuaged the doom-mongers' concerns, judging by sterling's failure to hold on to a short-lived gain".

"This presumably reflects the fact that the GDP figures showed continued weakness in the export-orientated manufacturing sector and the naysayers' view that the recent calm in the economy will inevitably be followed by a storm," he said in an investors' note.

A stronger pound weighs on exporters, making their goods more expensive for buyers using weaker currencies.

Shares in Barclays bank rallied to the top of the FTSE 100 risers' board, as investors shrugged off rising mis-selling costs and flat net profits to focus on news of a jump in underlying pretax earnings.

- Deutsche Bank surprises -

Deutsche Bank shares firmed 0.6 percent to 13.38 euros at close, after the troubled German lender posted a surprise third-quarter net profit.

Deutsche's financial health has been in the spotlight ever since the US Department of Justice last month sought an unaffordable $14 billion fine over its role in the subprime mortgage crisis -- sparking fears it might have to raise fresh capital.

"A surprise move into profit for Deutsche Bank has allayed some of the fears that sent shares in Germany?s biggest bank into free fall," noted IG analyst Joshua Mahony.

US stocks rose modestly following a plethora of mostly solid earnings, including from Tesla Motors and Twitter.

In other corporate news, US semiconductor maker Qualcomm said it would buy Dutch rival NXP in a $47-billion megadeal, sending shares in both higher.

Most Asian stock markets turned lower for a second day, with energy firms struggling after another sell-off in oil fuelled by concerns about a planned output cut.

Crude prices are languishing at three-month lows after OPEC member Iraq and non-member Russia suggested this week they would not take part in any limitations, despite a painful global supply glut.

Their comments have raised questions about the viability of last month's agreement by oil cartel OPEC to reduce output, which had sent prices soaring.

Oil prices rose Thursday but have tumbled more than three percent this week.

- Key figures around 1545 GMT -

London - FTSE 100: UP 0.4 percent at 6,986.57 points (close)

Frankfurt - DAX 30: UP 0.1 percent at 10,717.08 (close)

Paris - CAC 40: DOWN 0.02 percent at 4,533.57 (close)

EURO STOXX 50: FLAT at 3,081.13

New York - Dow: UP 0.02 percent to 18,203.10

Tokyo - Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.3 percent at 17,336.42 (close)

Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.2160 from $1.2242 Wednesday

Euro/pound: UP to 89.69 pence from 89.09 pence

Euro/dollar: FLAT to $1.0907 from $1.0907

Dollar/yen: UP to 105.04 yen from 104.51 yen

Oil - West Texas Intermediate: UP 68 cents at $49.86 per barrel

Oil - Brent North Sea: UP 64 cents at $50.62