Europe close: Markets finish higher as BoE stands pat

European stocks turned a little higher on Thursday, struggling for direction as investors continued to mull over central bank policy.

The Stoxx Europe 600 index was last up 0.62% at 340.52, France’s CAC 40 added 0.2% to 4,379.07 and Germany’s DAX was 0.61% higher at 10,442.10.

In the UK, the FTSE 100 was up 0.85% at 6,730.30 after the Bank of England stood pat on rates and left its asset purchase programme unchanged, as widely expected.

Mike van Dulken, head of research at Accendo Markets, said central bank updates are continuing "to burden investors desperate for more stimulus to keep the accommodative policy market party going or at least signals that tighter policy is not imminent.

"All the while macro data remains mixed and concerns grow about both a waning potency of existing stimulus and fresh options running dry."

Meanwhile, oil prices steadied after falls earlier in the week, with West Texas Intermediate last up 0.71% to $43.91 a barrel and Brent crude 1.55% higher at $46.57.

On the corporate front, Swedish retailer H&M was under the cosh, falling 4.28% after it posted a rise in August sales that fell significantly short of analysts’ expectations.

EDF was also in the red, down 1.65% after the UK gave the go ahead to the Hinkley Point C nuclear power station.

High street fashion stalwart Next was 4.88% lower after posting a drop in first-half profit and highlighting challenging trading since July.

On the upside, GlaxoSmithKline nudged 0.17% higher, reversing earlier losses, after saying its shingles vaccine proved highly successful in a trial among elderly patients.

France's Zodiac Aerospace was a high riser, adding 6.03% after it reported better-than-expected revenues for the full year.

UK supermarket chain Wm. Morrison was on the front foot by 7.59% after it reported a jump in first-half profit, while Informa traded 4.9% higher after announcing plans to buy Penton Information Services for £1.2bn.

On the data front, inflation in the eurozone was confirmed at 0.2% in August, unchanged from July, according to Eurostat.

For the European Union, inflation came in at 0.3%, up from 0.2% the month before.

The lowest annual rates were registered in Croatia, Bulgaria and Slovakia, with the highest rates in Belgium, Sweden and Estonia.

Food, alcohol and tobacco prices rose 1.3%, down slightly from a 1.4% increase in July. Meanwhile, energy prices fell 5.6%, which was less than the 6.7% drop seen in July.

Claus Vistesen, chief eurozone economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics, said: “The EZ consumer price index was held back by a dip in core inflation last month, and a marginally lower rate of increase in food prices, which offset a continuing reduction in energy price deflation.

“Overall, we think the August data marks a temporary pause in the upward momentum which began in Q2, and see higher inflation ahead. The core rate should edge higher in the next six-to-12 months, and base effects will boost the year-over-year rate in energy prices further.”

In the US, the number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits increased less than expected last week, according to data from the Labor Department.

US initial jobless claims rose 1,000 from the previous week’s unrevised level of 259,000, versus expectations for a jump to 265,000.

This marked the 80th consecutive week claims were below 300,000 – the longest streak since 1970.