European Markets Close Higher As Investors React To ECB Policy, U.S. Stimulus News

European markets ended mostly higher on Thursday on continued optimism about global economic recovery and the European Central Bank's pledge to speed up its bond buying program.

News about the U.S. House of Representatives passing the $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package aided sentiment. The U.S. President Joe Biden is expected to sign the bill in the coming days.

Investors were also tracking quarterly earnings announcements and the trend in bond markets for direction.

The European Central Bank said Thursday that it will step up its emergency bond purchases over the next quarter based on market conditions and left its key interest rates unchanged.

The Governing Council, led by ECB President Christine Lagarde, left the size of the pandemic emergency purchase program, or PEPP, unchanged at EUR 1,850 billion and said these will continue until at least the end of March 2022 or when the coronavirus crisis phase is over.

The pan European Stoxx 600 climbed 0.49%. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 gained 0.17%, Germany's DAX ended 0.2% up and France's CAC surged up 0.72%, while Switzerland's SMI ended lower by 0.24%.

Among other markets in Europe, Austria, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Netherlands, Portugal, Russia, Spain and Sweden closed with sharp to moderate gains.

Belgium, Poland and Turkey closed weak, while Norway ended flat.

In the UK market, Flutter Entertainment gained 5.5%, Anglo American rallied 4.7%, IAG, Scottish Mortgage, Fresnillo, Antofagasta, Just Eat Takeaway, Smith DS, Rio Tinto, Compass, Auto Trader Group, Aveva and Polymetal International gained 2 to 3.4%. Vodafone, Sage Group, BHP Group and Glencore also rose sharply.

On the other hand, HSBC Holdings, Persimmon, AstraZeneca, Standard Chartered, Hikma Pharmaceuticals, M&G and BAE Systeme declined sharply.

In the German market, Infineon Technologies, Adidas, Thyssenkrupp, Deutsche Post, RWE, Merck and Covestro gained 1 to 4%, while Bayer, BMW, Continental, Volkswagen, Henkel and Deutsche Bank ended sharply lower.

In France, ArcelorMittal, WorldLine, STMicroElectronics, Hermes International, Dassault Systemes, Technip, Essilor and LVMH gained 2 to 5%.

Renault, Societe Genarale, Valeo, Carrefour and Credit Agricole shed 1.7 to 3.3%.

British house prices increased again in February but the current lockdown restrictions weighed on the sales market activity, the Residential Market Survey from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, or RICS, showed.

The house price balance rose to 52 percent in February from 49 percent in the previous month. Further, twelve month price expectations picked up, with the net balance climbing to +46 percent from +30 percent in January.

Market Analysis