European Stocks Close Higher

(RTTNews) - European stocks closed higher on Thursday, with data showing a smaller than expected contraction in Eurozone business activity aiding sentiment a bit.

Investors also digested the latest ECB meeting minutes and economic data from the U.K., France, and interest rate moves by a couple of central banks in the region.

ECB Governing Council member Joachim Nagel indicated at an event in Milan that the European Central Bank might be nearing its terminal rate for interest rate hikes.

Meanwhile, the minutes from ECB's October meeting showed the policymakers insisted that a further rate hike should be kept on the table, even if further tightening was not their main scenario.

The pan European Stoxx 600 gained 0.27%. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 climbed 0.19%, while Germany's DAX and France's CAC 40 gained 0.23% and 0.24%, respectively. Switzerland's SMI ended 0.18% up.

Among other markets in Europe, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain and Sweden closed higher.

Poland, Russia and Turkiye ended weak, while Austria closed flat.

In the UK market, Intertek rallied 3.25%. Johnson Matthey, Royal Mail, BP, Just Eat Takeaway.com, Ashtead Group, Royal Dutch Shell, ITV, Rolls-Royce Holdiings and AstraZeneca gained 1 to 2.7%.

Vodafone ended more than 5% down. British Land Company drifted down 4.4%. Carnival, Whitbread, IAG, EasyJet, National Grid, Land Securities, Fresnillo, Entain, TUI and Imperial Brands shed 2 to 4%.

In the UK market, Puma, Deutsche Boerse, SAP, Commerzbank, RWE and Allianz gained 0.6 to 1.3%.

Porsche declined more than 4%. Zalando ended down 1.6%, and Adidas drifted down 1.1%.

In Paris, Eurofins Scientific and TotalEnergies both gained about 1.75%. Sanofi advanced nearly 1.5%, while Veolia, Engie and Societe Generale gained 0.7 to 1%.

Stellantis gained nearly 1% after repurchasing 50 million common shares from Dongfeng Motor for about 934 million euros ($1.02 billion).

WorldLine, Teleperformance, Alstom, Pernod Ricard, Saint Gobain and Hermes International lost 0.6 to 1.1%.

According to the latest purchasing managers' survey results released by S&P Global, the ongoing downturn in the euro area private sector suggested that the region might have entered a shallow recession in the final quarter of 2023.

The HCOB flash composite output index rose to 47.1 in November from 46.5 in October. The reading was also above economists' forecast of 46.9.

Statistical office INSEE said in a report that French manufacturers' confidence held steady for the second straight month in November, with the manufacturing sentiment index coming in at 99.0. Economists had expected confidence to fall to 98.0.

The UK private sector activity almost stabilised in November after contracting in the previous three months, the purchasing managers' survey results from S&P Global and the Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply showed. The flash composite output index rose to a four-month high of 50.1 in November from 48.7 in the previous month.

Sweden's central bank unexpectedly paused its monetary policy tightening but expressed willingness to raise the interest rate further if the inflation outlook deteriorate. The executive board of Riksbank decided to leave the policy rate unchanged at 4.00 percent, confounding expectations for an increase of 25 basis points.

Turkey's central bank announced a further massive hike in the key interest rate on Thursday with the aim of ensuring a decline in the underlying trend of inflation and return it to the 5% target in the medium term.

The Monetary Policy Committee of the Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey, or CBRT, headed by Governor Hafize Gaye Erkan, decided to hike the policy rate from 35% to 40%.