European stocks closed higher on Thursday, reversing earlier losses this week as regional markets continued to see-saw amid political and corporate developments. The pan-European Stoxx 600 index ended the day up around 0.6%, with major bourses trading in positive territory.

In the U.K., the FTSE 100 gained 0.1%, Germany’s DAX rose 0.4%, and France’s CAC 40 surged 1.4%, boosted by news that the French government survived a no-confidence vote. Markets have been choppy this week, with some indexes hitting two-week lows on Tuesday before rebounding on Wednesday, led by gains in luxury brands.

Food and beverage stocks led the day’s gains, with the Stoxx Food & Beverage index climbing more than 4%. Nestlé shares surged 9.3% after the company announced a significant workforce reduction, cutting 12,000 white-collar jobs immediately and planning a further 4,000 layoffs over the next two years.

Among other individual performers, German life sciences company Sartorius closed 7.6% higher after reporting strong revenue and profitability growth, with sales revenue up 7.5% in the first nine months of the year. Nordea Bank also reached record highs, climbing 3.5% after lending income exceeded expectations, driven by mortgage and corporate lending growth in Sweden and Norway.

At the lower end of the index, Premier Inn-owner Whitbread fell 10% following a decline in profit and growth. Meanwhile, BMW shares rose 0.8% despite supply chain impacts from the Dutch seizure of Chinese semiconductor company Nexperia.

The market movements highlight investor sensitivity to political stability, corporate earnings, and sector-specific news, underscoring the volatile but resilient nature of European equities this week.