Major European Markets Close Slightly Higher

(RTTNews) - The major European markets ended slightly higher on Thursday with investors digesting the latest batch of U.S. and European economic data, and the European Central Bank's monetary policy announcement.

Most of the major markets in the region spent much of the day's session in negative territory and found some support in the final hour to settle on a slightly positive note.

The ECB held its key interest rates steady for a third policy session in a row and stuck to its stance that policy would remain restrictive for as long as needed, and did not give any signal regarding the possibility of a rate cut in the near future.

The Governing Council, led by ECB President Christine Lagarde, left the main refinancing rate, or refi, at 4.5% on Thursday, in the first rate-setting session of the year. The deposit facility rate was retained at a record high 4% and the lending rate was kept at 4.75%.

ECB President Lagarde said that it is premature to discuss rate cuts until there is enough evidence that inflation is converging toward the currency bloc's 2% target.

Markets expect the ECB to embark on an easing spree by the middle of this year as inflation has started to show signs of slowing.

The pan European Stoxx 600 ended 0.3% up. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 edged up 0.03%. Germany's DAX and France's CAC 40 advanced 0.1% and 0.11%, respectively. Switzerland's SMI edged up 0.11%.

Other markets in Europe closed on a mixed note. Austria, Denmark, Finland, Ireland, Netherlands, Sweden and Turkiye closed higher.

Greece, Iceland, Poland, Portugal, Russia and Spain ended weak, while Belgium and Norway closed flat.

In the UK market, ICP rallied more than 7.5% and Ashtead gained about 7.2%. Smurfit Kappa Group climbed 4.5%. Marks & Spencer, Mondi, Howden Joinery, RightMove, WPP, DS Smith, Associated British Foods, Flutter Entertainment, The Sage Group and Compass gained 1.2 to 2%.

St. James's Place ended 4.7% down, and Hikma Pharmaceuticals drifted down 3.7%. Standard Chartered, RS Group and Anglo American Plc lost 2.8 to 3.1%.

Lloyds Banking Group, Fresnillo, Melrose Industries, Entain, GSK, Kingfisher, Ocado Group and Barclays Group ended down 1.2 to 2%.

In the German market, Adidas surged 5.3%. Symrise and BASF gained about 2.8% and 2.4%, respectively. Zalando climbed 1.4%, whild Daimler Truck Holding ended nearly 1% up.

Puma ended down 2.6%. Mercedes-Benz, Porsche, Volkswagen, Commerzbank, Hannover Rueck, Fresenius Medical Care, Brenntag and Infineon shed 1 to 2%.

In Paris, Publicis Groupe notched up a gain of 3.6%. Airbus Group, Edenred and Capgemini gained 1 to 1.2%.

Teleperformance ended down 6.5%. WorldLine closed lower by about 2.5%, Renault ended nearly 2% down, while Kering and Engie lost 1.6% and 1%, respectively.

Survey results from the Munich-based ifo Institute showed business morale in Germany weakened unexpectedly to the lowest since the summer 2020 as the train strike and supply chain issues caused by the Red Sea re-routing added to the current sombre outlook.

The business confidence index fell to 85.2 in January from a revised reading of 86.3 in December.

Confidence among French manufacturers remained stable for the third straight month in January, as a gain in their own production outlook was offset by a decline in past production opinions, monthly data from the statistical office INSEE revealed.

The manufacturing sentiment index came in at 99 in January, the same as in the previous three months. The December score was revised down from 100. The expected score was also the long-term average of 100.

Data from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, or SMMT, showed car production in the United Kingdom grew notably in the year 2023 amid the receding supply chain challenges along with more expansion of electric vehicles.

Total car production climbed 16.8% on an annual basis, which was the best growth rate since 2010, the data showed.

According to the Confederation of British Industry's latest report, monthly retail sales balance fell by 18 points to -50 in January, implying the fastest decline in retail sales volume since January 2021.