Modupe Gbadeyanka
By Investors Hub
European stocks have turned mixed on the day following the Bank of England’s announcement to raise interest rates for the first time in over a decade.
While the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index has advanced by 0.7 percent, the German DAX Index and the French CAC 40 Index are down by 0.1 percent and 0.2 percent, respectively.
The BoE voted by a majority of 7 to 2 to increase the bank rate by 0.25 percentage points to 0.5 percent, as was widely anticipated.
The rate increase largely reflected concerns about the outlook for inflation, which soared to a five-year high of 3 percent in September.
In his subsequent press conference, BoE Governor Mark Carney said two additional rate hikes are needed to in order to get inflation to return to target.
On the economic front, the manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index for the eurozone rose to an 80-month high of 58.5 in October from 58.1 in September, final data from IHS Markit showed. Nonetheless, the reading was slightly below the initial estimate of 58.6.
Credit Suisse Group shares have jumped after the Swiss banking giant reported a significantly higher profit in its third quarter with strong wealth management results.
Hugo Boss has also soared as the German luxury fashion house raised its 2017 sales guidance after reporting a slight increase in third quarter revenue.
Meanwhile, Sanofi shares have fallen after the French drug giant reported a decline in third quarter profits but confirmed its full-year 2017 guidance for business earnings per share to be broadly stable at constant exchange rates.
Playtech shares have plummeted in London after the online casino games giant issued a profit warning, citing a slowdown in certain parts of Asia and problems with the Sun Bingo contract.
