European markets close higher following central bank bonanza
European stocks ended in positive territory Thursday as traders prepared for central bank decisions.
TL;DR
- European stocks finished higher as traders anticipated central bank decisions.
- The European Central Bank kept rates at 2%; Riksbank and Norges Bank also held steady.
- The Bank of England reduced its interest rate from 4% to 3.75%, the lowest in nearly three years.
- Norway's central bank kept rates at 4%, with economists suggesting potential cuts in summer 2026.
- BP shares fell after the oil giant appointed Meg O'Neill as its new CEO.
- Whitbread led European benchmarks with a 6.3% gain after securing permission for a London hotel.
- German firm Rational's shares rose 5.2% after an upgrade from UBS.
- AI-related stocks ASML and ASMI advanced despite U.S. market concerns over data center funding.
- U.S. stocks traded higher following cooler-than-expected inflation data.
- U.S. stocks had previously fallen, pressured by losses in semiconductor names tied to AI.
- Concerns about high capital costs for data centers impacted Oracle and chipmakers like Broadcom, Nvidia, and AMD.
- Wall Street's tech selloff also affected Asia-Pacific markets.