European stocks hit a seven-week high on Thursday, as some fears over the pace of future U.S. rate hikes dissipated, while a string of strong results, including by Shell , reinforced share purchases.
The Federal Reserve raised its main interest rate by 75 basis points, as expected, and reiterated that controlling inflation is a priority, but dropped guidance on the size of its next rate hike, saying “in some time” it would be advisable to reduce the pace of monetary tightening.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index was up 0.5%. This year has been overshadowed by fears that aggressive attempts by central banks to rein in rising inflation could push economies into recession.
In one of Europe’s busiest earnings days, Milan’s main stock index rose 1.0%, with carmaker Stellantis rising 3.7%, while chipmaker STMicroelectronics rose 2.7%. % by raising your revenue forecast.
The biggest boost to the STOXX 600 came from Schneider Electric, which rose 4.6% on an upbeat outlook, while oil company Shell rose 0.9% after posting a previous record-breaking quarterly profit.
Spain’s IBEX, meanwhile, fell as the euro zone’s second-largest bank, Santander, fell as it missed earnings forecasts.