Europe close: Stocks close at session highs following BoE

European markets finished near their best levels of the day after the Bank of England decided not to follow-through with its recent more hawkish rhetoric.

By the closing bell, the benchmark Stoxx 600 was edging higher by 0.13% or 0.49 points at 379.12, alongside a dip of 0.14% or 17.49 points to 12,163.99 for the German Dax while the Cac-40 was ahead by 0.46% or 23.24 points to 5,130.49.

In parallel, euro/dollar was again higher, rising 0.12% to 1.1874.

Economists had for the most part expected no change in policy from the Old Lady on Threadneedle Street, but remarks from Governor Mark Carney and chief economist Andrew Haldane since the previous meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee appeared to reveal much increased concerns regarding the then current overshoot in CPI inflation.

Commenting on the MPC's announcement, Paul Hollingsworth at Capital Economics said: "Clearly the majority of the MPC are in no rush to raise interest rates.

"[...] Nonetheless, the minutes suggested that markets may have gone too far in expecting rates to remain on hold until around Q3 2018 – indicating that if the economy evolves in line with the MPC’s latest forecasts, then policy would need to be tightened by a “somewhat greater extent” than currently priced in."

According to some analysts, the White House's decision the day before to impose sanctions on Russia was also dampening sentiment.

Against that backdrop, a purchasing managers index for services sector activity in the currency bloc's largest economy surprised to the downside, with IHS Markit's PMI for Germany printing at 53.1, down from a preliminary reading of 53.5.

The French services PMI on the other hand edged past forecasts, slipping from 56.9 in the month before to 56.0 but coming in ahead of a preliminary reading of 55.9(consensus: 55.9).

Euro area area retail sales volumes increased by 0.5% month-on-month (consensus: 0.1%).

Unicredit was a standout gainer on the heels of a surprisingly solid set of second quarter numbers, with net income rising to €945m from €916m in the same period one year ago (consensus: €587m).

Shares of Neste Oyj fell back after reporting weaker-than-expected figures for operating profits.

Adidas was trading a smidgen higher after posting another strong quarter thanks to sales in the US and China.

BMW saw revenues jump by 7.5% over the three months to June, helped by sales of its new 5-series vehicle. Management also raised its outlook for its auto segment, telling shareholders it was now expecting a "solid" full-year performance.

Siemens was also in the headlines following its disclosure of plans to float its healthcare unit in the first half of 2018.