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European stocks swung to positive territory on Thursday, with a jump in shares of Lufthansa and Bayer helping Germany outperform as investors weighed the economic risks of a number of upturns in coronavirus infections.

Budget airline easyJet has raised about 419 million pounds ($520 million) through a share placing to help bolster its finances after the COVID-19 pandemic devastated the travel industry.

Lufthansa shares jumped by 10% on Thursday after investor Heinz Hermann Thiele dropped his objections to a 9 billion euro ($10.12 billion) government bailout to rescue the carrier hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic.

Plus-sized fashion retailer N Brown on Thursday scrapped it dividend for the fiscal year 2021, but said sales had started to improve in recent weeks after posting a drop in the first quarter due to coronavirus-led lockdowns.

Britain's FTSE 100 index is seen opening 19 points lower at 6,105 on Thursday, according to financial bookmakers, with futures down 0.50% ahead of cash markets open.

Restaurant chain Chuck E. Cheese parent CEC Entertainment [CEII.UL] filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Thursday, making it the latest casualty of the COVID-19 pandemic that has crushed entertainment and leisure industries globally.

Budget airline easyJet on Thursday said it had raised about 419 million pounds ($520.5 million) through a share placing to help it withstand the COVID-19 pandemic.

South African budget retailer Mr Price on Thursday reported a 10.4% drop in annual earnings due to COVID-19 impairment provisions, and did not declare a final dividend in order to preserve cash.

Lufthansa shares jumped more than 27% in early trade on Thursday after billionaire investor Heinz Hermann Thiele endorsed a 9 billion euro ($10.12 billion) government bailout to rescue the carrier hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic.

Restaurant chain Chuck E. Cheese parent CEC Entertainment Inc [CEII.UL] said on Thursday the company and its domestic affiliates have filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy as a result of the ongoing coronavirus crisis.

China has urged more than a dozen provinces to take precautions against another round of heavy rain in the next few days after turbulent weather brought floods to large swathes of the country this month.

Australia's Orocobre Ltd on Thursday warned sales volume of lithium carbonate would more than halve in the June quarter from its flagship Olaroz mine, and brought forward its scheduled maintenance period for the Argentinian project.

Australia's Orocobre Ltd on Thursday warned of a nearly 53% drop in sales volume of lithium carbonate in the June quarter from its flagship Olaroz mine, hurt by restrictions amid the coronavirus pandemic.

China's giant aluminium production sector seems to have emerged unscathed from the COVID-19 crisis.

Qantas Airways Ltd on Thursday said it would raise A$1.9 billion ($1.30 billion) in equity, cut at least 6,000 jobs and ground 100 aircraft for up to 12 months and some for longer as part of its plan to deal with the coronavirus crisis.

Qantas Airways Ltd on Thursday entered a trading halt pending the release of an announcement about a capital raising including an institutional share placement and share purchase plan.

Argentina is examining alternatives to the planned expropriation of financially ailing soymeal exporter Vicentin, including a possible private-public partnership, Production Minister Matias Kulfas and other sources close to the talks said on Wednesday.

U.S. President Donald Trump signed a memorandum aimed at protecting American lobster fishermen who have found export markets drying up, a White House adviser dubbed the "lobster king" said on Wednesday, adding China could face new tariffs.

The Trump administration has determined that top Chinese firms, including telecoms equipment giant Huawei Technologies and video surveillance company Hikvision, are owned or controlled by the Chinese military, laying the groundwork for new U.S. financial sanctions, according to a document seen by Reuters on Wednesday.