India, Feb. 6 -- European shares advanced on Thursday to hover near record levels as trade war fears eased and data showed Germany's factory orders rebounded at a much stronger than expected pace in December, largely driven by the manufacture of transport equipment.
New orders increased 6.9 percent month-on-month in December, reversing a revised 5.2 percent fall in November, Destatis reported earlier today. Orders were forecast to grow only 1.9 percent.
The euro was subdued against the dollar ahead of the release of Eurozone retail sales data later in the day.
The British pound stabilized against its major peers ahead of the Bank of England's interest-rate decision, with markets pricing in a 25-bps reduction.
The pan European STOXX 600 ...