European markets open higher following Fed cut; Bank of England rate decision in focus
European markets were higher Thursday as investors digested the U.S. Federal Reserve's first interest rate cut in four years and looked ahead to the Bank of England's rate decision later in the session.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 index was up 0.89% by 9:30 a.m. London time, with all major bourses and virtually all sectors in the green. Mining stocks added 2.8% while utilities were a rare outlier, down 0.84%.
Retail stocks climbed 1.7%, led by gains for British retailer Next. The company jumped as much as 5.8% before paring gains slightly, after saying it was on track to make almost £1 billion ($1.32 billion) in annual profits following an uptick in first-half sales.
Shares of Commerzbank traded 1.5% lower in morning deals as further developments emerged after UniCredit obtained a 9% stake in the German lender last week. UniCredit CEO Andrea Orcel said the Italian bank was able to buy 4.5% of the state's stake in Commerzbank because the government trusts it, Reuters reported Thursday citing local media. UniCredit shares were mostly unchanged.
Source: CNBC
