RTTN: European Markets Rise Ahead Of Rate Decisions
The European markets are in positive territory on Thursday, ahead of the interest rate decisions from the European Central Bank and Bank of England later in the day.
On the economic front, U.K house prices rose more-than-expected in November, after declining in the previous month, survey data from the Lloyds Banking Group unit Halifax showed.
House prices climbed 0.4 percent monthly in November, in contrast to a 0.4 percent decline in October. Economists had forecast a 0.3 percent rise for the month.
The Euro Stoxx 50 index of eurozone bluechip stocks added 0.42 percent, while the Stoxx Europe 50 index, which includes some major U.K. companies, gained 0.09 percent.
The German DAX rose 0.49 percent, the French CAC 40 gained 0.42 percent and the FTSE 100 index of the U.K. advanced 0.10 percent. Switzerland's SMI added 0.45 percent.
In Frankfurt, Infineon Technologies rose 2 percent and Lufthansa gained 1.2 percent.
Daimler added 1.6 percent, BMW advanced 1 percent and Volkswagen gained 0.9 percent.
Meanwhile, Henkel, Siemens and Beiersdorf were moderately lower.
In Paris, Renault climbed 1.9 percent and Peugeot gained nearly 3 percent.
Luxury group LVMH and contact lens maker Essilor added 1.7 percent and 1.6 percent, respectively.
Orange gathered 1.6 percent. Credit Suisse raised the stock to "Neutral" from "Underperform."
In London, Sage Group climbed 5 percent. Several analysts raised their price targets on the software firm.
TUI travel, which reported a surge in full year profit, climbed 3.4 percent.
Low-cost airline EasyJet advanced around 3 percent and Ryanair climbed 7.5 percent. Both reported traffic data for November, and Ryanair raised its full year profit forecast.
Miners Rio Tinto, Anglo American and BHP Billiton are losing between 2.4 percent and 1.7 percent.
Taylor Wimpey gained 3.6 percent and Barratt Developments added around 3 percent. The home builders will be added to the FTSE 100 index, effective December 22.
The Asian stocks rose broadly as record highs on Wall Street amid fresh signs of resilience in the U.S. economy and continued hopes that central banks in China and Europe will unveil further stimulus encouraged investors to buy riskier assets.
In the U.S., futures point to a higher open on Wall Street. In the previous session, the Dow rose 0.2 percent and the S&P 500 gained 0.4 percent to reach fresh record closing highs, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq added 0.4 percent.
Crude for January delivery lost $0.14 to $67.24 per barrel, while gold fell $6.1 to $1202.6 a troy ounce.
