European Shares Climb Before BoE Rate Decision

(RTTNews) - European stocks were moving higher on Thursday after U.S. President Donald Trump signaled progress toward a first trade deal in his global tariff dispute, without providing further details.

A news conference in the Oval Office is scheduled for 10 a.m. Washington time, with reports suggesting that Trump is likely to announce a framework of a trade deal with the U.K.

Investors were also reacting to the Fed's status-quo decision on rates and looked ahead to interest-rate decisions from regional central banks.

In economic releases, Germany's industrial production increased 3.0 percent month-on-month in March, in contrast to the 1.3 percent decrease in February, data from Destatis revealed. Output was expected to grow 0.9 percent.

German exports increased 1.1 percent on a monthly basis in March, but this was weaker than February's 1.8 percent gain, separate set of data showed. Shipments were expected to climb 1.0 percent.

Elsewhere, U.K. house prices climbed 0.3 percent on a monthly basis in April after falling for two straight months, data published by mortgage lender Halifax revealed. Prices were expected to grow 0.2 percent, following a 0.5 percent drop in March and a 0.2 percent decrease in February.

The pan European STOXX 600 was up half a percent at 535.99 after falling half a percent on Wednesday.

The German DAX gained nearly 1 percent, France's CAC 40 surged 0.8 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 was up 0.3 percent.

SGL Carbon SE, a German carbon and graphite product maker, rose about 1 percent after confirming its FY25 outlook.

Puma jumped 4 percent. The sportswear brand reaffirmed its full-year guidance after reporting flat first-quarter sales.

Infineon climbed 2.8 percent. The company has received final approval for the funding of its new semiconductor manufacturing lab in Dresden from the German government.

Siemens Energy added 3.2 percent as it delivered better-than-expected Q2 earnings and lifted its FY25 outlook.

AB InBev, the world's largest brewer, rallied 3.4 percent as Q1 earnings beat expectations.

Staffing company Adecco SA soared 6.2 percent after upbeat first-quarter results. Packaging firm Mondi rose 3.3 percent after posting a sequential rise in first-quarter profit.