Advancers

In Germany, the advances of more than 2% put sportswear group Adidas and truck maker Man in the lead. In France, turbine maker Alstom and yogurt producer Danone rose 1.8% each and boosted the market. Nestle climbed 2.5% as Deutsche Bank raised its recommendation on the shares to buy from hold.

BP gained 1.9% and Statoil ASA, largest producer of oil and natural gas in Norway, rose 1.7%. Royal Dutch Shell also advanced 2.1%.

Miners were also strong as the price of copper gained. BHP Billiton climbed 1.6% and Rio Tinto Group, the world third-biggest mining company, added 1%.

Shares in Vodafone Group rose 2% after a report from Dutch technology magazine Bright that the firm is likely to supply Apple Inc iPhone in Europe, starting in December.

Decliners

Diageo slid 1.3% even as the world biggest liquor company announced revenue growth accelerated in the fiscal second half.

Commodities

Oil prices advanced Thursday tracking a U.S. government report that showed an unexpected drop in gasoline stocks. Crude oil for August delivery gained 24 cents to $69.21 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange by midday in Europe. The Brent crude contract for August delivery gained 12 cents to $70.67 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange in London.

Gold gained for a second day in London on speculation higher oil costs will revive demand for the metal. Gold for immediate delivery climbed $2.40, or 0.4%, to $645.90 an ounce. Silver increased 18.49 cents, or 1.5%, to $12.46 an ounce.

Currencies

The dollar fell against the euro Thursday as markets awaited the U.S. Federal Reserve interest rate decision. In morning European trading the euro bought $1.3462, up from $1.3445 in late New York trading on Wednesday. The British pound was at $2.0017, up from $1.9978 the night before, while the dollar rose to purchase 123.11 Japanese yen from 122.43 in New York.