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German luxury carmaker BMW affirmed its target to increase sales this year after group sales rose by 3.2% in May year-on-year, driven by strong demand from mainland China.

French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said on Thursday he would meet Renault chairman Jean-Dominique Senard later in the day and reiterated that a merger with Fiat Chrysler remained an interesting option for Renault.

Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd has filed confidentially for a Hong Kong listing, according to one source familiar with the matter.

Lockheed Martin said on Thursday it was on track to cut the cost of its F-35 fighter jet A variant to $80 million per jet a year ahead of its original target of 2020.

Packaging products maker DS Smith Plc said on Thursday that it had made plans for contingency stocking of spare parts as it readies for Britain's planned exit from the European Union, but expected disruption to its operations to be "relatively contained".

Britain's accounting watchdog said on Thursday it had fined PwC 4.55 million pounds ($5.8 million) for failing to challenge management at IT services company Redcentric where a 20 million pound hole was later found in the books.

French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said on Thursday a Fiat Chrysler-Renault merger remained an "interesting opportunity" but added he would tell the French carmaker's chairman that strengthening the Renault-Nissan alliance was the priority.

Tesco, Britain's biggest retailer, said sales growth slowed in its latest quarter, blaming a subdued overall market that has been hampered by poor early summer weather, sending its shares lower on Thursday.

Asian shares slumped on Thursday as the Hong Kong market was hit for the second straight session following a day of massive street protests, while oil prices flirted with five-month lows due to higher U.S. crude inventories and a bleak demand outlook.

Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd has filed confidentially for a Hong Kong listing that will take place as soon as the third quarter of this year, a person with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters.

Chinese "Gen Z" shoppers in their early 20s are emerging as an increasingly powerful force in the luxury industry as brands try and tap into buoyant demand for high-end goods in the world's second-biggest economy, consultancy Bain said on Thursday.

Chinese regulators should step up support for the economy and keep ample liquidity in the financial system, Vice Premier Liu He said on Thursday, suggesting Beijing would soon unveil more policies to bolster growth amid rising U.S. trade pressure.

An ambitious plan to transform the industrial towns of China's Pearl River Delta into a modern economic zone powered by new technology ventures has triggered a rush of cross-border property investments between Hong Kong and the mainland.

Airbus delivered its first A350 aircraft to Japan Air Lines on Thursday, saying the specially tailored version would start operating on Japan's busy domestic routes.

Suspected attacks on two tankers off the coast of Iran saw oil markets erupt out of their recent slump on Thursday and kept traders gobbling up ultra-safe government bonds, gold and the Japanese yen.