PARIS (dpa-AFX) - The European markets are trading mixed on Thursday, after the Swiss National Bank unexpectedly decided to discontinue its currency ceiling and took interest rate further into negative territory.
In a statement, the SNB said it is discontinuing the minimum exchange rate of 1.2 Swiss francs per euro. The bank introduced the ceiling in September 2011 when the Swiss franc was exceptionally overvalued.
Germany's economy expanded the most in three years during 2014, mainly driven by domestic demand, preliminary data from Destatis showed. Gross domestic product grew 1.5 percent, in line with economists' expectations.
Eurozone trade surplus increased slightly to a new record in November on a marginal growth in exports, Eurostat reported. The trade surplus rose to a seasonally adjusted 20 billion euros from 19.6 billion euros in October.
The Euro Stoxx 50 index of eurozone bluechip stocks was up 0.86 percent, while the Stoxx Europe 50 index, which includes some major U.K. companies, was gaining 0.28 percent.
The German DAX, the French CAC 40 and the FTSE 100 index of the U.K. were moderately lower, while Switzerland's SMI plunged over 11 percent.
In Frankfurt, Beiersdorf climbed 6 percent. The Nivea maker reported increased sales for the year.
K+S advanced 2.2 percent and Continental added close to 2 percent.
Meanwhile, Linde and HeidelbergCement fell 1.7 percent and 1.3 percent, respectively.
Insurer Hannover Rueck fell 1.5 percent as HSBC cut the stock to 'Neutral' from 'Overweight.'
In Paris, Sanofi dropped around 2 percent, while LVMH and Total slipped 1.3 percent each.
Saint-Gobain and Pernod Ricard declined 1.2 percent each.
Lafarge gained 2.8 percent and Airbus added 1.3 percent. Essilor and Accor advanced moderately.
In London, Tullow Oil, which issued an operational update, fell 2.6 percent.
Imperial Tobacco declined around 4 percent and Compass Group dropped 2.5 percent.
Experian added 3.3 percent and Randgold Resources was gaining 3 percent.
J Sainsbury and Morrison Supermarkets rose 1.7 percent and 1.5 percent, respectively.
Richemont, which third-quarter sales, plunged 15 percent in response to the SNB decision.
The Asian stocks rose broadly after crude oil prices surged the most in more than 2 1/2 years overnight, giving indications that prices may be nearing the bottom.
In the U.S., futures point to a lower open on Wall Street. Stocks fell for a fourth day on Wednesday, as plunging commodity prices on the back of a weak global economic forecast from the World Bank, a disappointing U.S. retail sales report and lackluster earnings from JP Morgan soured investor sentiment.
The Dow fell nearly 350 points before paring losses to close down 1.1 percent and the tech-heavy Nasdaq dropped half a percent, while the S&P 500 shed 0.6 percent.
Crude for February delivery fell $0.47 to $48.01 per barrel, while gold advanced $20.1 to $1254.6 a troy ounce.
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX