European Shares Inch Higher With German Politics In Focus

(RTTNews) - European stocks traded higher on Thursday ahead of interest-rate decisions from the Bank of England and the U.S. Federal Reserve later in the day, with both the central banks expected to cut rates by 25 basis points.

Investors will pay close attention to Fed Chair Jerome Powell's comments on the policy outlook after Trump's victory.

Earlier in the day, Norway's central bank held its policy interest rate unchanged at a 16-year high of 4.50 percent.

Investors were also digesting the ramifications of political upheaval in Germany.

The German coalition government collapsed today as Chancellor Olaf Scholz sacked his finance minister in a late-night move after a marathon of crisis meetings.

The three remaining ministers of the Free Democrats also resigned later at night, paving the way for a snap election.

In economic releases, official data showed Germany's industrial production declined more than expected in September.

Industrial production posted a monthly fall of 2.5 percent, partially offsetting the 2.6 percent increase in August, Destatis reported.

German exports declined for the first time in three months in September, while imports recovered from last month, shrinking trade surplus.

Elsewhere, U.K. house prices increased for the fourth straight month to hit a record high in October, but prices are expected to climb at a moderate pace as slower interest rate cuts by the Bank of England and new government policies might damp demand, mortgage lender Halifax said.

The pan European STOXX 600 was up 0.7 percent at 510.13 after falling half a percent on Wednesday amid apprehensions about Trump's policies on tariffs and immigration.

The German DAX rallied 1.3 percent, France's CAC 40 climbed 0.7 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE was little changed.

Italy's biggest utility Enel fell 1.3 percent after revenue dipped during the first nine months of 2024.

ArcelorMittal, the world's second-biggest steelmaker, jumped almost 5 percent after Q3 core earnings fell less than expected.

Lender Banco BPM soared 9 percent after saying it would launch a bid for full control of asset manager Anima Holding in a deal worth up to 1.6 billion euros ($1.7 billion). Anima shares surged 9.7 percent.

SGL Carbon, a German manufacturer of carbon-based products, rallied 3.4 percent despite posting lower profit and revenue for the third quarter.

Air France-KLM plunged 11 percent after the airline reported a bigger-than-expected decline in its quarterly operating result and warned of higher annual costs.

Higher commodity prices lifted resource stocks, with miners Anglo American, Antofagasta and Glencore all climbing around 3 percent while energy giant Shell added 1 percent.

J Sainsbury tumbled 3 percent as the British supermarket group kept its forecast for full-year profit growth of up to 10 percent.

Telecoms company BT Group lost nearly 6 percent after cutting revenue expectations due to a weak outlook for its business department.

Rolls-Royce Holdings declined 4.5 percent after the engine maker said supply chain issues are continuing to hamper production.