Investing.com - European stocks were mostly higher on Thursday, as investors awaited the European Central Bank’s monetary policy decision due later in the day amid hopes for new stimulus.
During European morning trade, the EURO STOXX 50 added 0.23%, France’s CAC 40 gained 0.32%, while Germany’s DAX 30 rose 0.22%.
Investors were expecting the ECB to announce additional stimulus measures later Thursday, in a move to boost inflation and growth in the euro area.
Financial stocks were mixed, as BNP Paribas (PA:BNPP) fell 0.10% and Societe Generale (PA:SOGN) gained 0.41% in France, while Commerzbank (DE:CBKG) added 0.14% and Deutsche Bank (DE:DBKGn) slid 0.30% in Germany.
Societe Generale said on Wednesday that it plans to cut 550 jobs over five years as part of consolidation of its 20 French client treatment centers into 15 sites.
Among peripheral lenders, Italy’s Unicredit (MI:CRDI) and Intesa Sanpaolo (MI:ISP) rose 0.11% and 0.26% respectively, while Spanish banks Banco Santander (MC:SAN) and BBVA (MC:BBVA) gained 0.24% and 0.51%.
Elsewhere, Carrefour (PA:CARR) tumbled 1.24% after the French retailer proposed raising its 2015 dividend by 2.9% to €0.70 a share as operating profit increased by 2.4% to €2.445 billion, in line with analysts’ estimates.
Linde AG (DE:LING) gained 0.89% even after the German gases and engineering company reported lower fourth-quarter profit and warned that a slowdown in demand from the oil and gas sector could weigh on earnings this year.
In London, FTSE 100 edged down 0.13%, led by Ashtead Group (LON:AHT), whose shares plummeted 4.75% after Credit Suisse (SIX:CSGN) downgraded the stock to an underperform rating.
Meanwhile, mining stocks were mostly higher on the commodity-heavy index. Shares in Glencore (LON:GLEN) climbed 0.77% and Rio Tinto (LON:RIO) jumped 1.55%, while Anglo American (LON:AAL) surged 2.13%. Bhp Billiton (LON:BLT) underperformed, with shares declining 2.77%.
In the financial sector, stocks were mixed. Lloyds Banking (LON:LLOY) rose 0.29% and HSBC Holdings (LON:HSBA) rallied 1.10%, Barclays (LON:BARC) fell 0.28%, while Barclays and the Royal Bank of Scotland (LON:RBS) tumbled 1.56% and 1.60% respectively.
Aviva (LON:AV) Plc was one of the top performers on the index, with shares up 3.89% after the U.K. insurer reported a Solvency II ratio of 180%, disclosing its capital strength under new European Union rules for the first time, and raised its dividend by 15%.
In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a higher open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.18% gain, S&P 500 futures a 0.25% increase, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.20% rise.