BRUSSELS/FRANKFURT/PARIS (dpa-AFX) - The European markets declined throughout Thursday's session and ended the day firmly in negative territory. Disappointing Eurozone private sector data and weak German business sentiment weighed on the markets. Today's split vote from the Bank of England also has investors anticipating rate hikes in the near future.
The Monetary Policy Committee of the Bank of England decided to leave the benchmark rate unchanged in a split vote, bolstering hopes for a possible rate hike in May.
At the rate-setting meeting, the Monetary Policy Committee, governed by Mark Carney, voted 7-2 to maintain the benchmark rate at 0.50 percent. The bank had previously raised its key rate in November 2017, which was the first hike in a decade.
Policymakers unanimously decided to maintain the quantitative easing at GBP 435 billion.
All members agreed that any future increases in bank rate are likely to be at a gradual pace and to a limited extent.
The pan-European Stoxx Europe 600 index weakened by 1.76 percent. The Euro Stoxx 50 index of eurozone bluechip stocks decreased 1.55 percent, while the Stoxx Europe 50 index, which includes some major U.K. companies, lost 1.63 percent.
The DAX of Germany dropped 1.70 percent and the CAC 40 of France fell 1.38 percent. The FTSE 100 of the U.K. declined 1.23 percent and the SMI of Switzerland finished lower by 1.66 percent.
In Frankfurt, HeidelbergCement fell 2.89 percent after saying it expects a moderate rise in sales in 2018.
United Internet tumbled 9.88 percent despite its EBIT rising by 9.8 percent in the fiscal year 2017 from last year.
Likewise, Drillisch AG dropped 6.04 percent even as its fiscal 2017 adjusted consolidated EBITDA from the continued operation increased 37.2 percent year-on-year.
In Paris, L'Oréal fell 0.64 percent. The cosmetics company and Armani announced the signature of an agreement to renew their license until 2050.
In London, tech giant Micro Focus sank 6.25 percent after its earnings alert earlier in the week.
Consumer goods maker Reckitt Benckiser Group jumped 4.78 percent after it ended talks with Pfizer over buying its consumer healthcare business.
Petrofac advanced 1.46 percent after its CEO Ayman Asfari increased his stake in the oilfield services company from 18 percent to nearly 19 percent.
Construction and support services firm Interserve soared 12.97 percent after it struck a refinancing deal with its banks.
IG Group Holdings rallied 2.87 percent. The online broker said its net trading revenue of 152.9 million pounds for the third quarter was 30 percent higher than in the same period last year.
The euro area private sector expanded at the weakest pace in more than a year in March, flash data from IHS Markit showed Thursday.
The composite output index dropped to 55.3 in March from 57.1 in February. The score signaled the weakest growth in the private sector since January 2017. The reading was expected to ease moderately to 56.8.
The euro area current account surplus increased notably at the start of the year, data from the European Central Bank showed Thursday. The current account surplus rose to a 4-month high of EUR 37.6 billion in January from EUR 31.0 billion in December.
German business sentiment deteriorated to an 11-month low in March as firms were less optimistic about the months ahead due to fears of trade conflicts led by the US, survey data from the Munich-based Ifo Institute showed Thursday.
The business climate index dropped to 114.7 from 115.4 in February, Ifo said. The score was forecast to fall to 114.6.
Germany's private sector expanded at a slower pace in March, flash data from IHS Markit showed Thursday. The composite output index fell to an eight-month low of 55.4 from 57.6 in February. The reading was also below the forecast of 57.0.
France's private sector growth softened in March as both manufacturing and services expanded at weaker rates, flash data from IHS Markit showed Thursday. The composite output index fell to 56.2 in March from 57.3 a month ago. This was the lowest reading in seven months and below the forecast of 57.0.
France's manufacturing confidence weakened slightly as expected in March, but remained very favorable, survey data from the statistical office Insee showed Thursday. The manufacturing confidence index dropped to 111 in March from 112 in February.
UK retail sales rebounded at a faster than expected pace in February, figures from the Office for National Statistics revealed Thursday. Retail sales volume grew 0.8 percent month-on-month in February, in contrast to a 0.2 percent drop in January. Sales were expected to grow moderately by 0.3 percent.
A report released by the Labor Department on Thursday showed a modest uptick in first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits in the week ended March 17th. The report said initial jobless claims edged up to 229,000, an increase of 3,000 from the previous week's unrevised level of 226,000. Economists had expected jobless claims to dip to 225,000.
Despite a sharp downturn in stock markets and weakness in housing construction, the Conference Board released a report on Thursday showing a bigger than expected increase by its index of leading U.S. economic indicators.
The Conference Board said its leading economic index climbed by 0.6 percent following a 0.8 percent increase in January. Economists had expected the index to rise by 0.3 percent.
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