Stock indices of Western Europe changed on Thursday in different directions after summing up the results of the meeting of the European Central Bank (ECB) and the publication of May data on inflation in the United States.
The European Central Bank (ECB), following its meeting on Thursday, expectedly kept the base interest rate on loans at zero level, the rate on deposits – at minus 0.5%.
The rate on margin loans remained at 0.25%. The ECB also did not change the volume of the Pandemic Emergency Purchase Program (PEPP), leaving it at 1.85 trillion euros, as experts expected.
At the same time, the regulator said that the purchase of assets under the PEPP in the current quarter will continue to be carried out at a significantly higher pace than in the first months of this year.
At the same time, the ECB improved its forecast for GDP growth in the eurozone in 2021 to 4.7% from 4.1%. The inflation forecast for this year has been raised to 1.9% from 1.5%.
Economic activity in the eurozone is expected to accelerate in the second half of 2021 amid the lifting of restrictive measures imposed by the coronavirus pandemic, European Central Bank (ECB) Chairman Christine Lagarde said during a press conference.
Meanwhile, consumer prices (CPI) in the US jumped 5% in May compared to the same month last year, according to data from the country’s Labor Department.
The inflation rate accelerated from 4.2% in April and was the highest in more than 12 years – since August 2008.
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Analysts on average predicted a 4.7% rise in consumer prices in May, Trading Economics reported.
Industrial production in France fell 0.1% in April from the previous month, data from French statistics agency Insee showed on Thursday.
Analysts on average were expecting an increase of 0.5%, Trading Economics reported. The composite index of the largest enterprises in the region Stoxx Europe 600 increased by 0.03% and amounted to 454.56 points.
German indicator DAX lost 0.06%, French CAC 40 – 0.26%, Italian FTSE MIB – 0.4%, Spanish IBEX 35 – 0.24%.
At the same time, Britain’s FTSE 100 climbed 0.1%, with PC peripheral maker Logitech International SA losing 4.2% among Stoxx Europe 600 components.
Stellantis NV dropped 1.3%. The automaker said the French authorities have charged Peugeot with manipulation of diesel exhaust data.
Shares of UK-based website operator Auto Trader Group PLC rose 6.5% after the company announced that it would resume share buybacks soon, although it posted a 29% decline in revenue in fiscal 2021.
Soitec SA rose 2.9%. The French semiconductor materials manufacturer has unveiled a plan to triple its revenue by 2026.
