LONDON — European stocks closed higher on Thursday afternoon as investors reacted to policy rate decisions from three central banks.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 provisionally made a 0.88% gain, with all sectors and major bourses in positive territory. Tech stocks led, up over 1.63%.
The Bank of England on Thursday kept interest rates unchanged at a 16-year high of 5.25%, a move that had been widely expected. A majority of economists polled by Reuters had forecast a cut in August after the country's July 4 election.
The decision comes after data released Wednesday showed that U.K. inflation rose by an annual 2.0% in May, hitting the central bank's inflation target.
Earlier, the Swiss National Bank 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.
Norway's central bank held its policy interest rate at 4.5% on Thursday, as expected, and said the rate would continue to be kept at a 16-year high till the end of 2024, providing the economy evolves as currently envisaged.
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Bank of England holds interest rates steady despite inflation easing to 2% target
Switzerland trims key interest rate to 1.25% in second cut of the year
Money Report
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 15% on Thursday after Bloomberg reported that buyout firms have been studying the company.
Britain's Tate & Lyle tumbled toward the bottom of the European benchmark. Shares of the specialty food and beverage company fell nearly 11% 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.
Stateside, the S&P 500 climbed in morning trade as it broke above 5,500 for the first time.