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European stocks ended mixed on Thursday as investors stayed largely cautious, tracking earnings announcements and digesting Bank of England’s policy statement. <\/p>\n
Although optimism about growth aided sentiment, buying interest was a bit subdued due to worries about spikes in coronavirus<\/span> cases in Asian countries. <\/p>\n The Bank of England today kept its interest rate and quantitative easing unchanged. The nine-member Monetary Policy Committee, headed by Governor Andrew Bailey, unanimously voted to hold the interest rate at 0.10%.<\/p>\n The bank retained the stock of corporate bond purchases at GBP 20 billion and the government bond purchases at GBP 875 billion.<\/p>\n The bank forecast the UK economy<\/span> to grow sharply by 7.25% instead of 5% estimated in February. But, the outlook for 2022 was lowered to 5.75% from 7.25%, while that for 2023 was retained at 1.25%.<\/p>\n According to the Monetary Policy Report, UK GDP is expected to rise by around 4.25% in the second quarter of 2021, as more people are vaccinated and Covid related restrictions ease.<\/p>\n Although inflation is below the 2% target, it will rise temporarily above the target towards the end of 2021, owing mainly to developments in energy prices, the bank said. Inflation is projected to return to around 2% in the medium term.<\/p>\n The pan European Stoxx 600 drifted down 0.12%. The U.K.’s FTSE 100 advanced 0.52%, Germany’s DAX gained 0.17% and France’s CAC 40 climbed 0.28%, while Switzerland’s SMI edged up marginally.<\/p>\n Among other markets<\/span> in Europe, Iceland, Ireland, Russia, Spain and Turkey closed higher.<\/p>\n Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Netherlands, Norway and Sweden ended weak, while Austria, Belgium, Greece, Poland and Portugal settled flat.<\/p>\n In the UK market, Fresnillo surged up more than 6%. British American Tobacco advanced 3.2% and Imperial Brands climbed 3%, while Legal & General Group, National Grid, Land Securities, Evraz, Burberry Group, United Utilities and Unilever gained 2 to 2.8%.<\/p>\n Retailer Next gained 1.8% as it raised full-year profit forecasts for the second time in two months.<\/p>\n Admiral Group shares ended 4.7% down. Ocado Group, Renishaw, Pershing Square Holdings, Scottish Mortgage and WPP lost 2 to 3.1%. Reckitt Benckiser, Informa, Croda International, BP and Kingfisher also ended sharply lower.<\/p>\n In Germany, Thyssenkrupp, Munich RE, MTU Aero Engines, Beiersdorf, Covestro, BASF, Linde and Deutsche Post gained 1 to 3%.<\/p>\n Allianz declined nearly 4%. Volkswagen ended notably lower, giving up earlier gains after raising its 2021 operating margin targets.<\/p>\n Fresenius Medical Care, Infineon Technologies, Deutsche Wohnen, HeidelbergCement and RWE ended with sharp to moderate losses. <\/p>\n In the French market, Societe Generale shares rallied 5.5% after the bank reported net income for the first quarter that handily beat expectations.<\/p>\n Legrand gained about 3.5%. Thales rose after reporting a surge in sales, while Carrefour, ArcelorMittal, Air Liquide, Bouygues, Veolia, Engie and Unibail Rodamco also closed with strong gains.<\/p>\n Air France-KLM ended sharply lower after posting wider first-quarter operating loss and announcing it is considering raising more capital. STMicroElectronics and WorldLine also ended with sharp losses.<\/p>\n In economic releases, Eurozone retail sales grew for the second straight month in March, rising 2.7%, but the pace of growth weakened from February, when volume was up 4.2%, Eurostat reported. However, that was higher than economists’ forecast for a 1.5% increase.<\/p>\n On a yearly basis, retail sales rebounded 12%, following a 1.5% drop in February. This was also faster than the 9.6% increase economists had forecast.<\/p>\n German factory orders growth accelerated more than expected in March, data from Destatis revealed. Factory orders increased 3% month-on-month in March, faster than the revised 1.4% increase seen in February. Orders were expected to climb 1.7%. On a yearly basis, new order growth increased sharply to 27.8% from 5.8% in the previous month.<\/p>\n Germany’s construction sector continued to decline in April, survey data from IHS Markit showed. The Purchasing Managers’ Index for the construction sector fell to 46.2 in April from 47.5 in March.<\/p>\n The U.K. service sector grew at the fastest pace since October 2013, driven by sharp increases in business<\/span> and consumer spending amid easing of restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic, final data from IHS Markit showed.<\/p>\n The Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply services business activity index advanced to 61.0 in April from 56.3 in March. The score was well above the flash estimate of 60.1. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n Market Analysis<\/p>\n<\/div>\n