By Investors Hub
European stocks have risen on Thursday as traders react to the European Central Bank’s monetary policy announcement.
The focus also remained on Spain as the government prepares to impose direct rule in a bid to stop Catalonia breaking away.
While the French CAC 40 Index has advanced by 0.8 percent, the German DAX Index is up by 0.6 percent and the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index is up by 0.5 percent.
Swiss engineering firm ABB has rallied after its third-quarter earnings beat forecasts. STMicroelectronics has also jumped after the semiconductor company raised its full-year outlook after reporting a surge in third-quarter net income.
Spanish banking group Banco Santander has risen about 1 percent after delivering another solid quarter of results.
Meanwhile, Norwegian energy firm Statoil has fallen after its third quarter net loss widened from last year due to a number of impairment charges.
Nokia has also moved to the downside after the Finnish company warned of challenges in its networks business after posting a 9 percent drop in network sales in the third quarter.
In economic news, German consumer confidence is set to fall in November, survey data from market research group GfK showed. The forward-looking consumer sentiment index unexpectedly fell to 10.7 in November from 10.8 in October.
Adedapo Adesanya 
Modupe Gbadeyanka