European stocks opened mostly higher on Thursday, after the Federal Reserve raised interest rates for the first time in a year and as investors eyed the Bank of England’s monetary policy decision due later in the trading session.
During European morning trade, the EURO STOXX 50 advanced 0.75%, France’s CAC 40 jumped 0.93%, while Germany’s DAX 30 gained 0.71%.
At the conclusion of its policy meeting on Wednesday, the Fed raised interest rates by 25 basis points and projected three more rate hikes for 2017.
Financial stocks were broadly higher, as French lenders BNP Paribas (PA:BNPP) and Societe Generale (PA:SOGN) surged 2.32% and 2.59%, while Germany’s Deutsche Bank (DE:DBKGn) and Commerzbank (DE:CBKG) advanced 0.77% and 2.15%.
Among peripheral lenders, Italy’s Intesa Sanpaolo (MI:ISP) and Unicredit (MI:CRDI) jumped 2.03% and 2.66% respectively, while Spanish bank Banco Santander (MC:SAN) climbed 0.45%.
Lufthansa AG (DE:LHAG) shares rallied 1.74%, rebounding from losses posted earlier in the week after a flight from Texas to Germany had to make an emergency landing at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport due to a bomb threat.
On the downside, E.ON SE NA (DE:EONGn) shares tumbled 0.91% after the German energy group said on Tuesday that it had invested in a British start-up business that uses sails instead of rotors to harness wind energy.
In London, commodity-heavy FTSE 100 eased 0.09%, weighed by sharp losses in the mining sector.
Shares in Glencore (LON:GLEN) declined 1.65% and Randgold Resources (LON:RRS) plummeted 4.88%, while rival company Fresnillo (LON:FRES) dove 6.02%.
Meanwhile, financial stocks were broadly higher. HSBC Holdings (LON:HSBA) gained 0.85% and Lloyds Banking (LON:LLOY) jumped 1.51%, while the Royal Bank of Scotland (LON:RBS) and Barclays (LON:BARC) surged 2.23% and 2.32% respectively.
Centrica (LON:CNA) was one of the best performers on the index, with shares up 2.69% after the energy supplier lifted its full-year earnings expectations on Thursday, thanks to better than expected cost savings and a strong trading performance.
In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a higher open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.24% increase, S&P 500 futures showed a 0.18% rise, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.11% gain.
