Commuters crossing a junction near the Bank of England (BOE), left, in the City of London, UK, on Wednesday, May 8, 2024. Bank of England policymakers appear the most divided since they brought their hiking cycle to a close last year, illustrating the challenge that Governor Andrew Bailey faces in steering his colleagues toward possible interest-rate cuts in the coming weeks. Photographer: Hollie Adams/Bloomberg via Getty Images
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LONDON — European stocks were higher on Thursday, with U.K. investors looking ahead to the Bank of England’s policy rate decision.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 rose around 0.4% during morning deals, with most sectors and major bourses in positive territory. Tech and construction stocks led the gains, both up over 1%, while food and beverages stocks dipped 0.6%.
The Swiss National Bank on Thursday said it is lowering its policy rate by 0.25 percentage points to 1.25%, a move that was anticipated by two-thirds of economists polled by Reuters. The decision follows a similar move in March and means the SNB retains its position as a front-runner in the global policy easing cycle.
U.K. traders will be focused on the Bank of England’s rate decision Thursday, although the central bank is widely expected to hold rates steady at a 16-year high of 5.25%, with the majority of economists polled by Reuters forecasting a cut in August after the country’s July 4 election.
Data released Wednesday showed U.K. inflation rose by an annual 2.0% in May, hitting the central bank’s inflation target.
Norway’s central bank is also set to announce its monetary policy decisions on Thursday. The Norges Bank is widely expected to keep the policy rate unchanged at 4.5%.
Investors will be keeping an eye out on earnings from Boohoo Group and DS Smith.
Shares of Germany-based drug discovery and development company Evotec rose more than 7% on Thursday, climbing to the top of the European benchmark.
Meanwhile, Britain’s Tate & Lyle tumbled toward the bottom of the index. Shares of the specialty food and beverage company fell nearly 4% after it announced it had entered into an agreement to buy U.S.-based CP Kelco for $1.8 billion.
Overnight, Asia-Pacific markets were mostly lower on Thursday as China kept its one- and five-year loan prime rates unchanged. Meanwhile, S&P 500 futures were little changed on Thursday as investors look for the benchmark to add to its latest record high.
On the data front, flash consumer confidence figures from the euro zone for June will be released.
