Investing.com - European stocks edged higher on Thursday, erasing earlier losses, after the European Central Bank left interest rates unchanged and as investors awaited comments by the bank's president Mario Draghi for more indications on the ECB's policy decisions.
During European afternoon trade, the EURO STOXX 50 added 0.10%, France’s CAC 40 rose 0.23%, while Germany’s DAX 30 inched up 0.03%.
The ECB left rates on hold at a record low 0.75%, in a widely anticipated decision.
Investors were looking ahead to the central bank’s post-policy meeting press conference later in the session, amid hopes that ECB President Mario Draghi would shed more light on talks with Spain over its fiscal requirements.
Sentiment on the euro has been bolstered by hopes that Spain will soon request a bailout and trigger the ECB’s bond purchasing program, a move which investors hope would ease the debt crisis in the region.
Financial stocks pushed sharply higher, as French lenders Societe Generale and BNP Paribas jumped 1.82% and 0.87%, while Germany's Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank advanced 0.68% and 0.35%.
Separately, Societe Generale and Greek lender Piraeus Bank confirmed that they are in exclusive talks for a potential sale of the French lender's Greek unit Geniki Bank.
Peripheral lenders were also mostly higher, led by Italy's Unicredit and Intesa Sanpaolo, up 1.78% and 1.29%, while Spain saw shares in Banco Santander climb 0.51% and BBVA dropped 0.66%.
On the downside, Swiss company Nobel Biocare plummeted 7.66% as the world’s second-biggest maker of dental implants said full-year profit will be affected by a deteriorating Japanese market.
In London, commodity-heavy FTSE 100 edged up 0.12%, as U.K. lenders tracked their European counterparts higher, while the Bank of England announced no changes to current monetary policy at the conclusion of its policy setting meeting.
Shares in the Royal Bank of Scotland rallied 1.72% and Barclays advanced 0.72%, while HSBC Holdings rose 0.48%. Lloyds Banking underperformed on the other hand, as shares tumbled 098%.
Meanwhile, mining giants Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton erased earlier gains, with shares dropping 0.38% and 1.12%, while copper producers Xstrata and Kazakhmys remained in the upside, adding 0.33% and 0.35% respectively.
Halfords added to gains, with shares skyrocketing 14.47%, posting its largest jump since November 2008, after the company said it expects 2013 profit before tax in the upper half of its previously forecast range of GBP62 million pounds to GBP70 million pounds.
The retailer also reported second-half same-store sales growth that beat analyst estimates.
In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a higher open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.32% rise, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.41% increase, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.42% gain.
Also Thursday, Spain saw borrowing costs fall at an auction of government debt, with the yield on five-year bonds dropping to 4.76% from 6.45% last month.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to release weekly government data on unemployment claims, as well as official data on factory orders, while the Federal Reserve was to produce the minutes of its September policy meeting.
During European afternoon trade, the EURO STOXX 50 added 0.10%, France’s CAC 40 rose 0.23%, while Germany’s DAX 30 inched up 0.03%.
The ECB left rates on hold at a record low 0.75%, in a widely anticipated decision.
Investors were looking ahead to the central bank’s post-policy meeting press conference later in the session, amid hopes that ECB President Mario Draghi would shed more light on talks with Spain over its fiscal requirements.
Sentiment on the euro has been bolstered by hopes that Spain will soon request a bailout and trigger the ECB’s bond purchasing program, a move which investors hope would ease the debt crisis in the region.
Financial stocks pushed sharply higher, as French lenders Societe Generale and BNP Paribas jumped 1.82% and 0.87%, while Germany's Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank advanced 0.68% and 0.35%.
Separately, Societe Generale and Greek lender Piraeus Bank confirmed that they are in exclusive talks for a potential sale of the French lender's Greek unit Geniki Bank.
Peripheral lenders were also mostly higher, led by Italy's Unicredit and Intesa Sanpaolo, up 1.78% and 1.29%, while Spain saw shares in Banco Santander climb 0.51% and BBVA dropped 0.66%.
On the downside, Swiss company Nobel Biocare plummeted 7.66% as the world’s second-biggest maker of dental implants said full-year profit will be affected by a deteriorating Japanese market.
In London, commodity-heavy FTSE 100 edged up 0.12%, as U.K. lenders tracked their European counterparts higher, while the Bank of England announced no changes to current monetary policy at the conclusion of its policy setting meeting.
Shares in the Royal Bank of Scotland rallied 1.72% and Barclays advanced 0.72%, while HSBC Holdings rose 0.48%. Lloyds Banking underperformed on the other hand, as shares tumbled 098%.
Meanwhile, mining giants Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton erased earlier gains, with shares dropping 0.38% and 1.12%, while copper producers Xstrata and Kazakhmys remained in the upside, adding 0.33% and 0.35% respectively.
Halfords added to gains, with shares skyrocketing 14.47%, posting its largest jump since November 2008, after the company said it expects 2013 profit before tax in the upper half of its previously forecast range of GBP62 million pounds to GBP70 million pounds.
The retailer also reported second-half same-store sales growth that beat analyst estimates.
In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a higher open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.32% rise, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.41% increase, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.42% gain.
Also Thursday, Spain saw borrowing costs fall at an auction of government debt, with the yield on five-year bonds dropping to 4.76% from 6.45% last month.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to release weekly government data on unemployment claims, as well as official data on factory orders, while the Federal Reserve was to produce the minutes of its September policy meeting.