BRUSSELS/FRANKFURT/PARIS (dpa-AFX) - German stocks edged higher on Thursday, even as underlying sentiment remained cautious amid a spike in Covid-19 cases in China and some U.S. states.
Record numbers of new coronavirus cases and hospitalizations are being reported in several U.S. states, while Beijing pledged more reforms and liquidity, helping ease concerns over a sudden jump in virus cases in recent days.
The benchmark DAX rose by 95 points, or 0.77 percent, to 12,477 after rising half a percent the previous day.
Flavour and fragrance group Symrise rose half a percent after electing Michael König as Chairman of its Supervisory Board.
Online fashion retailer Zalando surged 5.4 percent. The company said it is expecting a bigger increase in sales and operating profit in the second quarter than analysts are forecasting.
Investors await BoE interest-rate decision later in the day for further direction.
Earlier today, Switzerland's central bank kept its expansionary monetary policy stance, saying it expects the economy to contract the most in over five decades and inflation to remain more negative than forecast earlier this year due to the impact of the coronavirus, and the lockdown restrictions imposed to slow the pandemic.
The Swiss National Bank left the key interest rate unchanged at -0.75 percent, in line with economists' expectations.
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