BRUSSELS/FRANKFURT/PARIS (dpa-AFX) - European stocks closed higher on Thursday with investors reacting to a slew of earnings announcements and economic data from the region and digested the monetary policy decisions of the European Central Bank and the Bank of England. Concerns about U.S.-Iran tensions continued to weigh, limiting markets' upside.
The ECB and BoE both decided to leave their interest rates unchanged.
The Bank of England left its key interest rate unchanged but cautioned that there is a risk of material second-round effects from the energy price shock, caused by the war in the Middle East, which could lead to future rate hikes. The BoE Monetary Policy Committee, led by Governor Andrew Bailey, voted 8-1 to hold the bank rate at 3.75%.
The European Central Bank left its interest rates unchanged, as expected, even as policymakers expressed increasing concern over the impact of the surging energy prices and the intensifying war in the Middle East.
The pan European Stoxx 600 climbed 1.38%. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 ended stronger by 1.62%, Germany's DAX jumped 1.41% and France's CAC 40 gained 0.53%. Switzerland's SMI settled with a gain of 0.8%.
Among other markets in Europe, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Ireland, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Russia, Spain, Sweden and Türkiye closed higher.
Austria, Czech Republic, Greece, Iceland and Poland ended weak.
In the UK market, United Utilities soared 11% after the company reported stronger than expected annual results, expanded its investment programme, and launched a GBP800 million equity raise to meet its investment objectives.
Rolls-Royce Holdings jumped 7.6%. The engineering company said it was confident on meeting annual forecasts despite the disruption caused by the Middle East conflict.
Persimmon gained nearly 3% after keeping its 2026 delivery and profit targets steady.
Miners Glencore, Antofagasta, Fresnillo and Endeavour Mining gained 2.5%-6.5%. Anglo American Plc and Rio Tinto also moved up sharply.
Whitbread and DCC dropped about 6.3% and 5.7%, respectively. Weir Group, Autotrader Group, Entain, Admiral Group, IG Group Holdings and RightMove shed 1.3%-4%.
In the German market, Deutsche Post climbed about 7.5%. Bayer moved up nearly 4.5% and Brenntag gained 4%. Siemens Energy, Siemens Healthineers, E.ON, Infineon, Siemens, RWE, Daimler Truck Holding, Merck, Qiagen, Mercedes-Benz and Fresenius Medical Care gained 1.5%-3%.
MTU Aero Engine gained nearly 3%. The company's bottom line totaled EUR200 million, or EUR3.59 per share. This compares with EUR224 million, or EUR4.03 per share, last year.
BASF moved up 1.3% after reporting higher profit in the first quarter. Looking ahead for fiscal 2026, the company continues to expect adjusted EBITDA between 6.2 billion euros and 7.0 billion euros.
Sportswear provider Puma rallied after replacing its chief financial officer. Online takeaway food company Delivery Hero jumped 6% after posting higher first-quarter growth in its gross merchandize value.
Munich RE dropped 3%. Gea Group, Scout24, Deutsche Boerse, Adidas and Deutsche Bank lost 1%-1.4%.
In the French market, STMicroelectronics surged 5.3%. Teleperformance gained 4.3% and Veolia Environment climbed 3.2%.
Eurofins Scientific, Sanofi, Vinci, AXA, Carrefour, Thales, Legrand, Safran, Saint-Gobain, Orange and Air Liquide also posted strong gains.
Stellantis fell 6.5%. The stock fell despite the company reporting a turnaround performance in the January-March 2026 quarter. Concerns about future performance in the North American market weighed on the stock.
Credit Agricole lost 3.7% after results fell short of expectations. The bank reported a quarterly net profit of 1.68 billion euros ($1.96 billion), up 1.8% compared with the year-earlier period.
Societe Generale ended 3.6% down. BNP Paribas, Schneider Electric, Michelin and Endenred also ended notably lower.
Severn Trent moved up 7.3%. Centrica, St. James's Place, SSE, Berkeley Group Holdings, Llodys Banking Group, Segro and Barratt Redrow gained 2.5%-4%.
In economic news, data from Destatis showed Germany's retail sales fell 2% year-on-year in March, sharper than the 0.3% fall in February. Sales were forecast to drop moderately by 0.3%.
Retail sales of food were down 2.7% from February and non-food retail trade dropped 1%.
On a yearly basis, retail sales decreased unexpectedly by 2% in March, in contrast to the 0.9% rise in the prior month. Economists had forecast an annual growth of 0.5%. In nominal terms, retail sales dropped 1.5% from February and fell 0.5% from the last year.
Germany GDP increased 0.3% in the first quarter of 2026, after rising 0.2% in the fourth quarter of the previous year. GDP was expected to rise 0.1% in the latest quarter.
Data from Eurostat showed Eurozone inflation accelerated to 3% year-on-year in April, up from 2.6% in the prior month and matching estimates.
France's economy remained flat in the first quarter due to sluggish domestic demand and weaker exports and consumer price inflation hit the highest since mid-2024, driven by surging energy prices, official data showed Thursday. Gross domestic product stalled in the first quarter after expanding 0.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the first estimate from the statistical office INSEE.
French domestic producer prices increased 2% month-on-month in March 2026, the highest level in four months, following an upwardly revised 0.3% fall in February, data from INSEE showed.
France's economy stalled quarter-on-quarter in the first quarter of 2026, compared with market expectations and the previous period's 0.2% growth, preliminary estimates showed. On an annual basis, GDP expanded 1.1%, following a 1.3% increase in Q4.
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