European stocks traded higher on Thursday, as investors reacted to dovish comments from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell and awaited interest-rate decisions from the European Central Bank and the Bank of England later in the day.
Both central banks are expected to raise rates by 50 basis points and ECB President Lagarde’s press conference will be the key driver for markets.
The pan European STOXX 600 climbed 0.6 percent to 455.89 after ending flat with a negative bias on Wednesday.
The German DAX rallied 1.4 percent, France’s CAC 40 index added 0.6 percent and the U.K.’s FTSE 100 was up 0.3 percent.
Sweden’s Electrolux plunged 8 percent after predicting lower sales volumes in 2023.
Swiss wealth management firm Julius Baer rallied 3.8 percent after it closed its 2020-22 business cycle by hitting all its financial targets.
ING tumbled 4.5 percent on issuing disappointing guidance for 2023.
Banco Santander soared 4 percent after it achieved a record attributable profit of €9,605 million in 2022.
Shell rose over 2 percent. The oil & gas giant launched a $4 billion share buyback program after reporting record annual profits.
Wizz Air Holdings jumped more than 5 percent after saying it carried 4,149,850 passengers in January, an increase of 73.1 percent from last year.
German lender Deutsche Bank lost 4.2 percent after its pre-tax profit came in below expectations.
Semiconductor manufacturer Infineon jumped 6 percent after posting higher profit and revenue for its first quarter.
Medical device maker Siemens Healthineers surged 6.4 percent after confirming its guidance for full-year revenue growth.
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