(Reuters) -European shares ticked higher on Thursday, with corporate earnings in full swing, while higher U.S. tariff rates on dozens of partners kicked in ahead of the Bank of England’s monetary policy meeting.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index rose 0.2%, as of 0715 GMT, with most major regional bourses trading in the green. Britain’s blue-chip FTSE 100 was down 0.2%, while Switzerland’s benchmark SMI index was up 0.1%.
U.S. President Donald Trump’s higher tariffs kicked in on Thursday, including a 39% rate on Switzerland. Swiss President Karin Keller-Sutter left Washington on Wednesday after failing to meet with Trump or any top trade officials, a source told Reuters.
The Bank of England is widely expected to announce a quarter-point interest rate cut at its meeting later in the day but policymakers could be split on the outlook with worries about rising inflation.
On the day, telecommunication stocks were under pressure falling 2.2%, with Freenet AG and DT Telekom down 8.5% and 5.2%, respectively, after quarterly results.
Among individual stocks, Maersk rose 5.3%, with the shipping group raised its full-year profit outlook on global demand for ocean container freight.
Merck KGaA fell 3% after narrowing its guidance range for organic sales and posting a lower second-quarter adjusted EBITDA due to a weaker dollar.
Rheinmetall was the top decliner on the index, falling 5.2%, after the German defence company missed second-quarter sales expectations partially due to a delay in German defence contracts being awarded.
(Reporting by Twesha Dikshit in Bengaluru; Editing by Rashmi Aich)
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