Shutterstock photo(RTTNews.com) - The European markets ended Thursday's session with modest gains. The markets climbed ahead of today's policy decision from the European Central Bank and pared their gains in the afternoon, following an early dip on Wall Street.
The European Central Bank left its interest rates and asset purchases unchanged and retained its downward bias on asset purchases. The Governing Council, led by ECB President Draghi, kept all its three interest rates unchanged for a twelfth consecutive policy session, on Thursday.
"The Governing Council expects the key ECB interest rates to remain at their present levels for an extended period of time, and well past the horizon of the net asset purchases," the ECB said in a statement.
The current asset purchases "are intended to run until the end of December 2017, or beyond, if necessary, and in any case until the Governing Council sees a sustained adjustment in the path of inflation consistent with its inflation aim", the bank said.
"If the outlook becomes less favorable, or if financial conditions become inconsistent with further progress towards a sustained adjustment in the path of inflation, the Governing Council stands ready to increase the programme in terms of size and/or duration," the ECB added.
The pan-European Stoxx Europe 600 index advanced 0.26 percent. The Euro Stoxx 50 index of eurozone bluechip stocks increased 0.40 percent, while the Stoxx Europe 50 index, which includes some major U.K. companies, added 0.33 percent.
The DAX of Germany climbed 0.67 percent and the CAC 40 of France rose 0.26 percent. The FTSE 100 of the U.K. gained 0.58 percent and the SMI of Switzerland finished higher by 0.53 percent.
In Frankfurt, utility RWE jumped 3.93 percent and rival E.ON gained 1.96 percent.
Automakers extended Wednesday's rally after Barclays and Goldman Sachs upgraded their ratings on the sector. BMW increased 1.02 percent, Daimler gained 0.79 percent and Volkswagen added 0.41 percent. Renault advanced 0.43 percent and Peugeot climbed 0.27 percent in Paris.
In London, Bovis Homes surged 10.36 percent. The troubled homebuilder posted weak half-year results but said it would raise its dividend this year and next, reflecting its confidence in the outlook for the business under new chief executive Greg Fitzgerald.
AstraZeneca gained 4.32 percent after posting positive results from a late-stage trial of its respiratory treatment Duaklir.
Tobacco company Imperial Brands rallied 2.80 percent after trimming its stake in Spanish logistics company Logista.
Outsourcer Capita tumbled 2.41 percent after restating its 2016 accounts due to accounting changes.
Ashmore Group slumped 6.82 percent even as the emerging markets-focused asset manager reported stronger-than-expected full-year earnings.
The euro area economy expanded at a slightly faster pace in the second quarter, latest data from Eurostat showed Thursday. Gross domestic product grew 0.6 percent sequentially in the second quarter, faster than the 0.5 percent expansion seen in the first quarter. The rate came in line with the estimate released on August 16.
Germany's industrial production remained unchanged in July, data from Destatis showed Thursday. Industrial production showed nil growth following a 1.1 percent decrease in June. Output was forecast to grow 0.5 percent.
The French trade deficit widened in July, as imports grew faster than exports, data from the customs office showed Thursday. The trade shortfall rose to EUR 5.97 billion in July from EUR 4.88 billion in June.
France's current account deficit increased in July, data from the Bank of France showed Thursday. The seasonally and working-day-adjusted current account deficit rose to EUR 4.2 billion in July from EUR 2.4 billion in the previous month.
UK house prices increased at a faster pace in August, data from the mortgage lender Halifax and IHS Markit showed Thursday. House prices advanced 2.6 percent year-on-year in three months to August, faster than the 2.1 percent increase seen in three months to July. The annual growth was forecast to stagnate at 2.1 percent.
Following last Friday's disappointing monthly jobs report, the Labor Department released a report on Thursday showing a sharp increase in first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits in the week ended September 2nd.
The report said initial jobless claims jumped to 298,000, an increase of 62,000 from the previous week's unrevised level of 236,000. Economists had expected jobless claims to rise to 241,000.
A report released by the Labor Department on Thursday showed U.S. labor productivity increased by more than initially estimated in the second quarter, while unit labor costs rose by less than initially estimated.
The Labor Department said labor productivity climbed by 1.5 percent in the second quarter compared to the previously reported 0.9 percent increase. Economists had expected the pace of productivity growth to be upwardly revised to 1.3 percent.
Meanwhile, the report said unit labor costs rose by 0.2 percent during the quarter compared to the previously reported 0.6 percent growth. Unit labor costs had been expected to rise by a revised 0.3 percent.
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