Europe close: Shares rise as oil strengthens and US dollar weakens

European stocks ended on a mixed note as investors sifted through a deluge of earnings amid steadying oil prices and a falling US dollar.

The benchmark Stoxx Europe 600 index slipped 0.20% to 328.76 while France’s CAC 40 ended the day practically unchanged, edging higher by just 0.04%, while Germany’s DAX slipped 0.44%.

In London, the FTSE 100 was up 1.06% after the Bank of England stood pat on interest rates at 0.5% and left its asset purchase programme unchanged. The BoE voted 9-0 to hold the rate steady.

Oil prices slipped after surging on Wednesday, on the back of US dollar weakness and growing hopes that an emergency meeting will lead to a production cut deal between OPEC and non-OPEC countries.

To take note of, Morgan Stanley predicted Brent crude oil prices would retreat throughout 2016, trading at just $30 per barrel in the second and third quarters.

West Texas Intermediate futures were lower by 0.5% at $32.13 a barrel and Brent crude was down by 0.86% to $34.74.

The Stoxx 600 oil and gas index rallied 3.46%, but miners were the biggest risers, with the Stoxx 600 basic resources index rocketing 7.16%.

The US dollar was on the backfoot again on Thursday, losing ground against the euro, the pound and the yen.

In corporate news, EasyJet flew higher after the budget airline said passenger numbers rose 6.3% in January compared with the same month in 2015 to 4.28m.

Oil major Shell posted strong gains despite reporting an 80% drop in full year profit amid plunging oil prices.

Vodafone shares edged higher after it posted an improvement in third quarter revenue growth.

On the downside, Credit Suisse tumbled after announcing its first annual loss since 2008.

Daimler was under pressure after the car maker said it expects growth to slow down this year and forecast only moderate gains in revenue and earnings.

Pharmaceuticals giant AstraZeneca was also under the cosh after it cautioned that earnings per share and revenue for the year will drop.

Investors were also digesting comments from European Central Bank chief Mario Draghi, who said acting too late on low inflation was more risky than acting too early.

Speaking at a conference at the Bundesbank, Draghi said: “Adopting a wait-and-see attitude and extending the policy horizon brings with it risks: namely a lasting de-anchoring of expectations leading to persistently weaker inflation.

“Draghi put on his best Braveheart impression as he said that he would not surrender to low inflation without stating what or when new measures would be put in place. That’s the big piece of news that the global markets want to hear,” said James Hughes, chief market analyst at GKFX.