A lead emerged among European stocks before Thursday’s European Central Bank decision: France’s CAC was in front, while London’s and Germany’s indexes logged smaller gains in early trading.
The CAC gained 0.72%. UKX advanced 0.28%, while the DAX added 0.11%. The CAC’s increase was 0.44 percentage point greater than UKX’s and 0.61 percentage point greater than the DAX’s.
The ECB’s Thursday policy decision was due at 9:15 a.m. ET (13:15 UTC). A news conference would follow at 9:45 a.m. ET (13:45 UTC).
EconoTimes’ earlier report on expectations for the ECB decision said markets broadly expected rates to remain steady and cited euro-area inflation and French borrowing costs as issues surrounding the meeting.
