European stocks came off their session lows and closed nearly flat on Thursday, after the European Central Bank raised interest rates 75 basis points, as expected, and pointed to a slower pace of rate hikes ahead. .
* The euro area stock index ended the day down 0.1%. Before the ECB’s decision, it lost up to 1.2%.
* The bloc’s lenders fared better, gaining 0.6%, after the ECB cut the subsidies it gives to banks through cheap loans called Targeted Long-Term Refinancing Operations (TLTROs). , which, according to analysts, was not as serious as feared.
* The central bank raised its deposit rate by 75 basis points, to 1.5%, and put reducing its bloated balance sheet on the agenda, but said “substantial” progress had already been made in its bid to fight inflation.
* The pan-European STOXX 600 index closed flat, with the Italian and Spanish indices, which are heavily weighted in the banking sector, among the best performers.
* Credit Suisse plunged 18.6% after the embattled lender said it planned to seek 4 billion Swiss francs ($4.05 billion), cut thousands of jobs and shift focus from investment banking to focus on his wealthy clients, while trying to put years of scandal behind him.
* On the UK’s FTSE 100, Shell rose 5.5% after the energy company posted a $9.45bn profit and announced plans to raise its dividend later in the year. France’s TotalEnergies gained 3.0% after reporting higher net profit in the third quarter.