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French PMI at 55; German PMI at 48.5

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Euro Zone PMI at 51.2

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STOXX 600 up 0.5%

(Updated at 0825 GMT)

By Pranav Kashyap

Aug 22 (Reuters) -

European shares rose on Thursday as investors sifted through

a wave of economic data from major European economies, while

anticipating the start of the Federal Reserve's Jackson Hole

conference later in the day.

The pan-European STOXX 600 index rose 0.5% at

516.29 points.

SEA OF PMI DATA

Flash purchasing managers' index (PMI) for the euro zone

showed surprising strength in business activity in August,

bouncing to 51.2, despite firms raising prices.

France's PMI surged to a 27-month high of 55.0 in August,

driven by a boost from the Olympics, and exceeding forecasts.

This pushed the French benchmark CAC 40 up by 0.3%.

Conversely, Germany's business activity contracted for the

second consecutive month, and by more than expected, PMI data

showed. The German benchmark DAX was unchanged, trading

at 0.2%

Britain's PMI was at 53.4, showing that business activity

accelerated this month. The benchmark FTSE was up by

0.3%.

Consumer confidence data for the Eurozone, the U.S. PMI and

initial jobless claims figures - all due later in the day - will

also be closely watched.

Overnight, the Nasdaq rose nearly 0.6%, buoyed

by the Fed's July meeting minutes that hinted at a potential

rate cut in September.

Markets now await more details on the cut's size at the

Jackson Hole conference, commencing later in the day. Chair

Jerome Powell will deliver the keynote speech on Friday.

"Don't expect any surprises from Jackson Hole. There's

already been enough communication leading up to it. The last

thing they want to do is shock the market," said Daniel Morris,

chief market strategist at BNP Paribas Asset Management.

In terms of European equities, "It's still a slightly

disappointing recovery," Morris added.

"Are Europe stocks going to do better than U.S. equities

or, the rest of the world? It's harder to come up with a

scenario where you see this happening".

The retail sector rose to the top, boosted by a 4.8%

gain in JD Sports after the British sportswear retailer

reported an improvement in second-quarter underlying sales

growth.

Energy stocks weighed the most, dropping 0.3% as oil

prices fell for a fifth session as investors worried about its

global demand outlook.

Among individual stocks, Aegon lost 4.7% after the

Dutch insurer said its key capital generation metric fell in the

first half of the year.

CTS Eventim surged 7.8% after the German ticketing

group raised its full-year earnings forecast.