Luxury sector bellwether Richemont jumped 16% after reporting a better-than-expected 10% increase in fiscal third-quarter sales, while France's LVMH, Kering and Christian Dior all rising. Retailers Moncler, Burberry, Swatch and Hermes also crowded around the top of the Stoxx index.

Analyst Rogerio Fujimori from Stifel Nicolaus maintained a Buy rating on Compagnie Financiere Richemont SA (CFR – Research Report) and

Indexes were slightly lower Thursday. Stocks dipped after posting the best day since November on Wednesday, fueled by bank earnings and tame CPI data.

Fears of a technical recession were stoked today by figures showing the UK barely grew in November.The 0.1% rise in GDP came in short of expectations, raising the prospect of an interest rate cut next month.

Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) are pointed firmly lower, following yesterday's 703-point pop, while S&P 500 Index (SPX) futures sit flat, and Nasdaq-100 Index (NDX) futures manage a modest gain.

Bank of America and Morgan Stanley earnings are out. Follow along for live updates on stocks, bonds and other markets, including the Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite.

U.S. futures for the S&P 500 were up 0.4% and futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average increased 0.1% ... Financiere Richemont rose 15.7% and Zalando added 15%. On the other hand, Safestore ...

The headline annual reading came in line with the 2.9% forecast in a Dow Jones poll. More clues on the state of the U.S. economy will be available Thursday, with the December retail sales report ...

US markets finished lower on Thursday following a mixed US retail sales report, while European luxury stocks pushed higher following strong results

Luxury stocks were among the top gainers after a better-than-expected sales update from Cartier owner Richemont that eased ... Warns of Oligarchy and Tech Industrial Complex in Farewell Address ...

In equities, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 68.42 points, or 0.16%, to 43,153.13, the S&P 500 fell 12.57 points, or 0.21%, to 5,937.34 and the Nasdaq Composite fell 172.94 points, or 0.89%, to 19,338.29. In contrast, MSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe rose 1.31 points, or 0.15%, to 848.61.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 776 points, or 1.8%, at 43,294. The S&P 500 was up roughly 111 points, or 1.9%, at 5,954. The Nasdaq Composite was up about 469 points, or 2.5%, near 19,514.