European stocks scrape out gains

A late-session rally in the energy sector helped European stocks end slightly higher on Thursday, with sentiment remaining fragile after a sharp rise in US unemployment claims showed further evidence of the coronavirus' economic impact.
The pan-European STOXX 600 closed a volatile session 0.4% higher, recovering from a sink into negative territory.
The energy sector was the biggest boost to the benchmark, tracking a surge in crude prices on reports that US President Donald Trump expects Russian President Putin and the Saudi Crown Prince to announce an oil production cut.
A price war between Saudi Arabia and Russia, coupled with expectations of lower demand, had sent oil prices plummeting last month, which in turn pushed European energy stocks to 24-year lows.
The sector jumped more than 5% on the day, with heavyweights Royal Dutch Shell, Total SA and BP adding between 3% and 9%.
Swedish oil and gas explorer Lundin Energy AB topped the STOXX 600, jumping around 15%.
European travel and leisure stocks were the worst performers for the day, with cruise operator Carnival PLC plunging more than 20% as it readied a bumper capital raise to help tide it through severe curbs on its business.
Carnival bottomed out the STOXX 600 for a second straight session.
Hays, one of the world's biggest recruiters, slumped 13% after announcing an emergency 200 million pound ($248.36 million) issue of shares on Thursday.
Technology shares also dropped, with French software firm Dassault Systemes shedding more than 5% after it warned of lower first-quarter revenue.