European Stocks Close Broadly Higher

(RTTNews) - European stocks closed broadly higher on Thursday with most of the major markets extending recent gains, amid rising optimism about interest rate cuts by several central banks. Geopolitical tensions weighed a bit on sentiment and limited markets' upside.

Data showing a much bigger than expected increase in U.S. jobless claims in the week ended August 26th, has added to optimism that the Federal Reserve will lower interest rates in the coming months.

The Bank of England maintained its key policy rate for the sixth consecutive meeting today, with the Monetary Policy Committee deciding to hold the Bank Rate at 5.25% again in a split vote. The current bank rate is the highest since early 2008.

While seven members judged that maintaining the rate at the current level was warranted, Swati Dhingra and Dave Ramsden sought a quarter-point reduction at the meeting.

Dhingra and Ramsden said the Bank Rate needed to become less restrictive to enable a smooth and gradual transition in the policy stance, and to account for lags in transmission.

"The MPC remained prepared to adjust monetary policy as warranted by economic data to return inflation to the 2% target sustainably," the bank said.

The pan European Stoxx 600 ended 0.19% up. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 gained 0.33%, Germany's DAX advanced 1.02%, and France's CAC 40 climbed 0.69%. The Swiss market was closed for Acension Day holiday.

Among other markets in Europe, Austria, Greece, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal and Turkiye closed higher.

Belgium and Spain ended weak. Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden were closed for Ascension Day. The Russian market remained closed for Victory Day holiday.

In the UK market, Anglo American Plc and JD Sports Fashion gained 3.1% and 2.9%, respectively.

Ocado Group, RightMove, RS Group, Taylor Wimpey, Marks & Spencer, Airtel Africa, Frasers Group, Centrica, Phoenix Group Holdings, United Utilities, Antofagasta, Ashtead Group, Howden Joinery, Prudential and Fresnillo gained 1.3 to 2.3%.

3i Group shares dropped more than 5% after the company reported a net asset value that fell short of expectations, and issued a cautious outlook for the full-year. HSBC Holdings ended down 4.15%. Melrose Industries, Pearson, IHG and Halma lost 1 to 1.6%.

In the German market, Puma rallied about 2.6%. Deutsche Post gained 2.2%. Siemens Energy, Infineon, Henkel, Siemens, Daimler Truck Holding and Deutsche Telekom also ended notably higher.

Mercedes-Benz, trading ex-dividend, closed nearly 6% down. Allianz ended lower by 4.7%. Vonovia, Fresenius, Zalando and Continental also declined sharply.

In the French market, STMicroElectronics climbed nearly 3%. Renault, TotalEnergies, Bouygues, Thales and Carrefour gained 1 to 1.5%.

LVMH, Kering and Hermes International ended notably lower.

Shares of Spanish bank Sabadell gained 3.2% after rival BBVA presented a 12.23 billion euro ($13.11 billion) hostile takeover offer directly to its shareholders. BBVA shares plunged 6.7%.

Italian payments group Nexi surged 6.5% after delivering better-than-expected first-quarter results and launching a share buyback program.