(Reuters) – European stocks edged higher on Thursday ahead of what could be the European Central Bank’s biggest-ever interest rate hike, with shares of miners and banks leading the gains.
Markets are yet to see by how much the ECB will raise its benchmark rate, as the central bank debates between a 50 basis point or 75 basis point increase, with expectations now leaning towards a bigger increase but not with full conviction.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index rose 0.5% by 0719 GMT. Cyclical sectors including miners, banks and insurers gained between 1.0% and 1.1%.
The basic resources sector attempted to recover from declines of more than 2% on disappointing China trade data in the previous session amid worries of metals demand.
(Reporting by Shreyashi Sanyal in Bengaluru; Editing by Rashmi Aich)
