FRANKFURT, Oct 30 — European stocks closed higher on Thursday as investors reacted to a slew of corporate earnings announcements and digested the monetary policy moves of the European Central Bank and the Federal Reserve, reported dpa-AFX.
The ECB left its key interest rates unchanged on Thursday, as expected, after raising them in September, and the chief Christine Lagarde revealed her decision to step down next year, as policymakers wait for the effect of the past moves amid surging inflationary pressures and study the impact of the turmoil in French bond yields.
The Governing Council, led by ECB President Lagarde, held the deposit rate steady at 2.5 per cent, the main refinancing rate at 2.65 per cent, and the marginal lending rate at 2.9 per cent.
On Wednesday, the Fed left its interest rate unchanged, as widely expected.
The Fed's accompanying statement acknowledged inflation remains elevated but said the accumulation of more information will help determine the policy stance appropriate to ensure a timely return of inflation to the 2 per cent goal. The Fed declared it "will deliver price stability."
The pan-European Stoxx 600 gained 0.61 per cent. The UK's FTSE 100 climbed 0.47 per cent, Germany's DAX closed with a gain of 0.92 per cent and France's CAC 40 gained 1.05 per cent, while Switzerland's SMI closed higher by 1.21 per cent.
Among other markets in Europe, Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Iceland, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Sweden and Turkey closed higher.
Ireland, Russia and Spain ended weak.
A report from the Bank of England showed net borrowing of consumer credit by UK individuals fell to £1.9 billion in September, down from an upwardly revised £2.7 billion in August and below market expectations of £2.2 billion.
