European markets close higher; Denmark’s Orsted launches U.S. lawsuit over wind farm blockage

European stock markets closed higher on Thursday as global investors assessed the latest U.S. jobs data.

U.S. private sector hiring rose less than expected in August, data released Thursday showed, bolstering the case for a September rate cut.

The pan-European Stoxx 600

 index provisionally closed 0.6% higher, led by media and telecoms stocks, both up nearly 2%. Stocks on Wall Street were also higher.

Orsted on the attack 

Shares of Danish renewable energy firm Orsted closed 0.7% higher after earlier rising by up to 4%, as the company sued the Trump administration to prevent it from blocking completion of a wind farm off the coast of New England.

It comes a day before Orsted is set to hold an extraordinary general meeting to update shareholders on its attempted capital raise.

Orsted on Monday announced it would receive almost $1 billion in fresh capital from Norwegian oil giant Equinor, part of its planned 60 billion Danish krone ($9.4 billion) rights issue, as it grapples with sustained attacks on its offshore wind projects stateside.