Investing.com - European stocks were steady to higher on Thursday, as the minutes of the Federal Reserve’s July policy meeting crushed expectations for a September rate hike and as investors turned their attention to the upcoming minutes of the European Central Bank’s latest meeting.
During European morning trade, the EURO STOXX 50 was flat, France’s CAC 40 gained 0.38%, while Germany’s DAX 30 dipped 0.01%.
The minutes of the Fed’s July policy meeting, released on Wednesday, showed that policymakers were still divided over the need to raise interest rates this year.
"Some ... members anticipated that economic conditions would soon warrant taking another step in removing policy accommodation," the Fed said in the minutes.
However, several policymakers said they wanted to "leave their policy options open."
Financial stocks were mostly higher, as French lenders BNP Paribas (PA:BNPP) and Societe Generale (PA:SOGN) gained 0.33% and 0.24%, while Germany’s Commerzbank (DE:CBKG) and Deutsche Bank (DE:DBKGn) climbed 0.44% and 0.49%.
Among peripheral lenders, Italy’s Unicredit (MI:CRDI) and Intesa Sanpaolo (MI:ISP) advanced 0.39% and 0.80% respectively, while Spanish banks Banco Santander (MC:SAN) and BBVA (MC:BBVA) jumped 0.94% and 1.22%.
Thyssenkrupp AG (DE:TKAG) added to gains, with shares up 1.61% after analysts at Deutsche Bank reaffirmed its “buy” rating on the stock.
On the downside, Nestle SA (SIX:NESN) dropped 0.64% after the Swiss food giant said first-half organic sales increased by 3.5%, missing analysts’ expectations.
In London, commodity-heavy FTSE 100 rose 0.22%, boosted by sharp gains in the mining sector.
Shares in Rio Tinto (LON:RIO) jumped 1.54% and BHP Billiton (LON:BLT) rallied 2.29%, while rival companies Anglo American (LON:AAL) and Antofagasta (LON:ANTO) surged 2.35% and 2.49% respectively.
In the financial sector, stocks were mixed. The Royal Bank of Scotland (LON:RBS) dipped 0.05% and HSBC Holdings (LON:HSBA) inched up 0.05%, while Barclays (LON:BARC) climbed 0.53% and Lloyds Banking (LON:LLOY) fell 0.22%.
Kingfisher (LON:KGF) was one of the worst performers on the index, with shares down 1.51% even as the home improvement retailer said second-quarter like-for-like sales increased by 3% and said that the Brexit vote had led to "no clear evidence of an impact on demand so far".
In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a steady open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.02% gain, S&P 500 futures showed a 0.01% uptick, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a flat open.