BRUSSELS/FRANKFURT/PARIS (dpa-AFX) - French stocks gained ground on Thursday after the U.S. Federal Reserve delivered another 25 bps rate cut and the Bank of Japan signaled the chance of expanding stimulus as early as its next policy meeting in October.
Elsewhere, the Swiss National Bank left its key policy rate and expansionary monetary policy unchanged, but said it 'remains willing to intervene in the foreign exchange market as necessary' in order to counteract the attractiveness of Swiss franc investments and thus ease pressure on the currency.
The Bank of England is expected to leave rates on hold amid Brexit uncertainty when it announces its monetary policy decision later in the day.
The benchmark CAC 40 was up 35 points, or 0.62 percent, at 5,655 after rising 0.1 percent on Wednesday.
Banks were among the prominent gainers, with BNP Paribas, Credit Agricole and Societe Generale climbing 2-3 percent.
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