European stocks were still treading water on Thursday ahead of the European Central Bank’s latest policy decision.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 index was up 0.21%. Traders said they were not expecting a change in ECB interest rates although there was an expectation that there would be a more hawkish stance to deal with rampant inflation in the eurozone.
“The ECB is now faced with an enormous challenge with an inflation target of 2% that they are missing by a mile, an inflation forecast that now looks out of date at 5.1%, and rising bond yields which are likely to hurt the most indebted economies of Italy and Spain the most,” said Michael Hewson at CMC Markets.
On the war front, Russia’s Black Sea flagship and missile cruiser was attacked and damaged severely by Ukrainian forces, forcing the entire crew to be evacuated.
US President Joe Biden announced another $800m in weaponry for Ukraine on Wednesday, following an hour-long phone call with the country’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
In equity news, Hungary’s Wizz Air took off by after saying it further quarter earnings would be better than expected and summer bookings were surging.
Airline shares were up on a read across, with Ryanair, easyJet and IAG all higher.
Italian infrastructure company Atlantia gained after the Benetton family and US private equity firm Blackstone tabled an offer for the Italian road and rail firm.
Shares in Swedish telecoms company Ericsson fell after warning that it expected to be fined by US regulators for its handling of a bribery investigation in Iraq. The company also reported a fall in quarterly earnings following its exit from Russia.
