European Shares Inch Higher Ahead Of ECB Decision, US CPI Data

(RTTNews) - European stocks traded higher on Thursday, with France's political crisis and the ECB rate decision in the spotlight.

Mass protests swept France as new Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu takes office amid anger over budget cuts and political turmoil.

The European Central Bank is scheduled to announce its rate decision later today and analysts expect no change in the deposit rate.

Focus will be on the customary press conference and the central bank's updated macroeconomic projections for the euro area.

U.S. CPI data also remains on investors' radar following a surprisingly encouraging report on producer prices the day before.

The pan European STOXX 600 was up 0.3 percent at 553.65 after finishing marginally lower on Wednesday.

The German DAX was marginally higher, France's CAC 40 surged 0.6 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 was up 0.4 percent.

In corporate news, British gambling technology company Playtech surged 6.6 percent after the company announced strong first-half results and said it is positioned to exceed full-year expectations.

Gas producer Energean rose 1.3 percent despite cutting its annual production forecast for the second time in nearly four months.

Online ticketing platform Trainline soared nearly 10 percent following a robust first-half trading statement.

Technip Energies jumped 5.2 percent in Paris. The energy infrastructure company has agreed to buy U.S.-based chemicals group Ecovyst's Advanced Materials & Catalysts business for $556 million.

Sanofi gained 1 percent after its SAR402663 earned fast track designation in the U.S. for neovascular age-related macular degeneration.