HONG KONG (AP) โ European markets opened higher on Thursday after a mixed day of thin trading in Asia after U.S. markets closed in observance of June 16.
In London, the FTSE 100 gained 0.2% to 8,218.75, as investors focused on a Bank of England decision on the monetary policy rate expected later in the day. The central bank was expected to keep its main interest rate at a 16-year high of 5.25%, even after data released on Wednesday showed that british inflation fell to the central bank's 2% target in May, for the first time in almost three years.
Germany's DAX rose 0.6% to 18,180.98, and Paris' CAC 40 added 0.6% to 7,612.35.
He Swiss National Bank cut its main policy rate by a quarter of a percentage point, citing a drop in โunderlying inflationary pressureโ despite a rebound in some costs such as rents, tourism services and oil products. The reduction to 1.25%, from 1.5%, will take effect on Friday, the SNB said in a statement.
Before the reopening of US markets, the future of the Dow Jones Industrial Average was little changed, while that of the S&P 500 rose 0.4%.
In Asian trading, Tokyo's Nikkei 225 index gained 0.2% to 38,633.02.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng lost 0.5% to 18,335.32. The Hang Seng technology index fell 1.7%, after rising 3.7% on Wednesday, following the advance of Nvidia. The Shanghai Composite Index fell 0.4% to 3,005.44.
The Chinese yuan was trading at its lowest level this year, with the central parity rate set at 7.1192 yuan per US dollar, according to the China Foreign Exchange Trading System.
The central parity rate is based on a weighted average of the prices offered by market makers before the interbank market opens each business day. Downward pressure on the yuan is a complicating factor in China's efforts to use monetary policy to stimulate lackluster growth in the world's second-largest economy.
The Chinese central bank on Thursday kept its benchmark one-year lending rate unchanged at 3.45% and the five-year prime lending rate at 3.95%. The one-year prime lending rate serves as the benchmark for most corporate and household loans, while the five-year rate is used as the benchmark for home mortgages.
Meanwhile, markets were digesting comments from People's Bank of China Governor Pan Gongsheng, who told a financial forum in Shanghai that China will maintain its accommodative monetary policies to support the economy. Comments by Pan and other Chinese officials about reforming and improving Chinese markets appeared to have little impact on stock prices.
In Sydney, the S&P/ASX 200 was little changed at 7,769.40, while South Korea's Kospi added 0.4% to 2,807.63.
Elsewhere, Taiwan's Taiex gained 0.9%, while Bangkok's SET fell 0.5%.
Also on Thursday, Indonesia's central bank held its benchmark rate steady at 6.25%. Indonesia's currency, like many in Asia, has weakened against the dollar, slowing its central bank's moves to cut rates, S&P Global Market Intelligence said in a report.
In other trading, benchmark U.S. crude oil fell 12 cents to $80.59 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude added 8 cents to $85.15 a barrel.
The dollar rose to 158.42 Japanese yen from 158.10 yen. The euro fell to $1.0721 from $1.0745.
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