European Stocks Close Mixed; ECB Holds Key Rates Unchanged

European stocks closed on a mixed note on Thursday, with investors digesting the European Central Bank’s policy announcement, and hoping for an interest rate cut by the Bank of England next month.

The ECB left its key interest rates unchanged as expected, after lowering them for the first time in five years in the previous session, as policymakers head into a summer break ahead of a possible rate reduction in September even as they worry about the sticky inflation.

The Governing Council, led by ECB President Christine Lagarde, held the main refinancing rate at 4.25%, the deposit facility rate at 3.75% and the marginal lending rate at 4.5%.

“The Governing Council is determined to ensure that inflation returns to its 2 percent medium-term target in a timely manner,” the ECB said. “It will keep policy rates sufficiently restrictive for as long as necessary to achieve this aim.”

Data showed today U.K. wage growth softened in the three months to May period, raising hopes of interest rate cuts ahead of the Bank of England’s rate decision next month.

Wage growth slipped below 6 percent for the first time in almost two years in a sign that the labor market is cooling.

Investors also reacted to a slew of corporate updates. Shares of automakers surged after industry data showed new car sales in the EU recovered strongly in June, driven by gains in three out of the region’s four major markets.

The pan European Stoxx 600 ended down 0.16%. The U.K.’s FTSE 100 and France’s CAC 40 both gained 0.21%, and Germany’s DAX ended down 0.45%. Switzerland’s SMI dropped 0.7%.

Among other markets in Europe, Greece, Iceland, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Russia and Spain ended higher.

Belgium, Denmark and Finland closed weak, while Austria, Netherlands, Sweden and Turkiye ended flat.

In the UK market, Frasers Group soared more than 9%. The fashion and retail giant released targets for its current fiscal year above market forecasts.

Schrodders climbed nearly 5%, and JD Sports Fashion gained 3.65%.

WPP, Natwest Group, British American Tobacco, Persimmon and Burberry Group gained 2.2 to 3%. Sainsbury (J), Severn Trent, Haleon, Pershing Square Holdings, Hargreaves Lansdown, SSE, United Utilities, Croda International, BP, Coca-Cola HBC, Shell and Vistry Group also ended notably higher.

Antofagasta ended nearly 5% down. Melrose Industries and EasyJet closed lower by 3.77% and 3.68%, respectively. Rolls-Royce Holdings, IHG, Airtel Africa, Glencore, RightMove, Auto Trader Group, Beazley, Rio Tinto, Diploma, Howden Joinery and AstraZenecal ended down 1 to 3%.

In the German market, Commerzbank, Daimler Truck Holding and Porsche gained 2.2 to 2.7%. Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Rheinmetall, Siemens Healthineers, Continental, Sartorius, Brenntag, Fresenius Medical Care, Bayer and Volkswagen advanced 1 to 2%.

Siemens dropped by around 4.3%. Siemens Energy ended down 2.2%. SAP, Infineon, MTU Aero Engines and Merck lost 1 to 1.6%.

In the French market, Publicis Groupe gained about 3.5%. The French advertising group raised its organic growth target for 2024 after reporting better than expected results for the first half of the year.

Teleperformance, Essilor, Stellantis, Veolia, TotalEnergies, Carrefour, Thales, Kering, Societe Generale, Credit Agricole, Engie, Capgemini, Edenred, Eurofins Scientific, L’Oreal and Bouygues ended higher by 1 to 2.5%.

Schneider Electric ended nearly 3% down. Safran, Renault and Accor lost 1 to 1.4%.

Swiss engineering group ABB ended lower by 4% after orders dropped 3% to $8.44 billion in the second quarter from prior year’s $8.67 billion.

Eurozone construction output declined for the third straight month in May, Eurostat said. Construction output posted a bigger fall of 0.9% on a monthly basis in May, after a 0.4% drop in April. This was the third consecutive decrease.

Germany’s building permits posted another sharp decline in May, reflecting the ongoing weakness in the construction sector, data from Destatis showed on Thursday. The number of permits for construction of apartments shrank 24.2% in May from the last year, which was worse than the 17% decrease posted in April.

Monthly data from the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association, or ACEA, showed new car sales in the EU rose 4.3% year-over-year to 1.089 million units in April, reversing a 3% fall in March. Among the four major markets, the Italian market showed the strongest sales growth of 15.1%, followed by Germany with a 6.1% rise.