European stock markets delivered a mixed performance on Thursday as investors digested fresh policy decisions from the European Central Bank and the Bank of England.
The ECB opted to keep interest rates unchanged, while the Bank of England moved to ease monetary policy, cutting its key rate by 25 basis points. The contrasting decisions helped shape divergent moves across regional markets.
Adding to the day’s developments, sentiment among French manufacturers improved sharply in December. Data from statistics agency INSEE showed business confidence rising to its highest level in more than 18 months. The manufacturing confidence index climbed to 102.0 from 98.0 in November, exceeding expectations that it would remain unchanged.
In market trading, the UK’s FTSE100 was down around 0.2%, while France’s CAC40 advanced 0.3% and Germany’s DAX gained 0.5%.
At the company level, shares in Swiss engineering group ABB (TG:ABB) edged slightly lower after the company agreed to acquire IPEC, a UK-based technology firm with over three decades of expertise in electrical diagnostics.
Perfume retailer Douglas (TG:DOU) came under pressure after warning of increased price sensitivity among consumers and intensifying competition from promotional discounting during the 2024–25 financial year.
By contrast, electronics retailer Currys (LSE:CURY) jumped sharply after reporting that its adjusted profit before tax for the first half of the year more than doubled.
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