UPDATE 2-European stocks end higher as mood improves, Lufthansa jumps

(For a live blog on European stocks, type LIVE/ in an Eikon
news window)
* Automakers, financials lead gains in Europe
* Lufthansa surges after shareholder backing for bailout
* STOXX 600 hovers near mid-June lows

(Updates to market close)
By Sruthi Shankar
June 25 (Reuters) - European stocks closed higher on
Thursday, as improving economic data and more support from the
European Central Bank helped lift sentiment, while shares in
Germany's Lufthansa jumped after a top shareholder backed a
government bailout.
The pan-European STOXX 600 .STOXX closed up 0.7% after a
choppy session with automakers .SXAP , financial services
.SXFP , banks .SX7P and insurers .SXIP the top gainers,
rising between 1.6% and 2.4%.
Stocks picked up steam after the ECB said it would offer
euro loans against collateral to central banks outside the euro
area to backstop funding markets amid the coronavirus pandemic.
"The ECB took a fresh initiative today that caught the
market by surprise and is helping lift financial shares today,"
said Marc Chandler at Bannockburn Global Forex.
Lufthansa LHAG.DE jumped 7.1% after billionaire investor
Heinz Hermann Thiele dropped his objections to a 9 billion euro
($10 billion) government bailout of the airline.
Meanwhile, in a first for a constituent of Germany's
prestigious DAX .GDAXI , payments firm Wirecard WDIG.DE
collapsed owing creditors almost $4 billion after disclosing a
gaping hole in its books. Its shares slumped 71.3%. The auto-heavy German index gained 0.7% overall, boosted by
Daimler DAIGn.DE , Volkswagen VOWG_p.DE and BMW BMWG.DE .
After upbeat euro zone business activity readings for June
earlier this week, a gauge of German consumer morale improved
heading into July, raising hopes for an steady recovery from the
coronavirus crisis. However, surging COVID-19 cases in the United States,
prospects of a fresh EU-U.S. trade tussle and a worrying
forecast for global economy put the STOXX 600 on track for
weekly losses.
Budget airline easyJet EZJ.L was down 9.5% after raising
about 419 million pounds ($520 million) through a share
placement to help bolster its finances. Sanofi SASY.PA edged up 0.9% after Reuters reported the
drugmaker is considering cutting hundreds of jobs. Bayer AG BAYGn.DE ended down 2.9%, reversing earlier
gains, after agreeing to pay as much as $10.9 billion to settle
U.S. lawsuits claiming that its widely used weedkiller Roundup
caused cancer.