By Sara Sjolin, MarketWatch
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- European stock markets held on to gains
on Thursday after the European Central Bank left interest rates
unchanged, with attention now turning to President Mario Draghi's
press conference.
The Stoxx Europe 600 index traded 0.4% higher at 338.29,
bringing it into positive territory for the week.
Shares of Bouygues SA gained 6.1% after the conglomerate offered
10.5 billion euros ($14.42 billion) to buy control of Vivendi SA's
French telecom business SFR. Vivendi shares added 1%.
Shares of Aviva PLC rallied 9.2% in London after the insurer
said adjusted operating profit increased 6% in 2013 as the value of
new business rose.
Shares of Aggreko PLC jumped 6.9% after the temporary-power
provider said it will return 200 million pounds ($333.76 million)
to shareholders and raised its dividend by 10% after cutting
debt.
Shares of Logitech International SA added 6.4% after the
computer-accessories maker raised its earnings guidance and
launched a $250 million share-buyback.
On a more downbeat note, shares of Balfour Beatty PLC slid 7.1%
after the infrastructure firm said difficult market conditions in
the U.K. and a significant downturn in the Australian
mining-and-resource sector led to a "disappointing financial
performance" in 2013.
More broadly, investors focused on central bank meetings. The
European Central Bank left its main refinancing rate unchanged at a
record low of 0.25% and kept the deposit rate at 0%. Attention now
turns to Draghi's press conference at 1:30 p.m. in London or 8:30
a.m. Eastern, when the central bank could reveal other easing
measures, such as ending SMP sterilization or launching another
round of Long Term Refinancing Operations. Read: Draghi to reveal
ECB decision: Time for action, finally?
The Bank of England also met on Thursday and -- as expected --
kept its interest rate a record low of 0.5% and made no change to
its 375 billion ($627 billion) quantitative-easing program.
U.S. data are also on tap, with jobless-claims figures for last
week due at 1:30 p.m. in London, or 8:30 a.m. Eastern. U.S. stock
futures pointed to a higher open on Wall Street.
In Europe, France's CAC 40 index gained 0.6% to 4,418.02, buoyed
by the gains for Bouygues. Germany's DAX 30 index added 0.2% to
9,562.03, and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 index advanced 0.2% to
6,786.87.
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