Technology stocks push European shares higher; ECB holds rates as expected

By Shashwat Chauhan and Shristi Achar A

(Reuters) -European shares rose on Thursday as technology shares and Nokia (HE:NOKIA) advanced on a quarterly profit beat, while investors took the European Central Bank's latest monetary policy meeting and news conference as signalling a dovish shift there.

The pan-European STOXX 600 ended 0.3% higher after falling as much as 0.5% during the day.

The highlight of the day was the ECB, which kept interest rates unchanged at a record high 4% as expected and reaffirmed its commitment to fighting inflation, giving no hint that policymakers are even contemplating policy easing.

Markets nevertheless heard hints of a change of tone and are betting on rate cuts to come.

"Today's conference delivered a clear dovish shift in the ECB's thinking, acknowledging the downside to growth and inflation compared to the December ECB forecasts," said Peter Sidorov, senior economist at Deutsche Bank (ETR:DBKGn).

"While rate cuts are not yet under discussion, Lagarde left the door open for the ECB to change course quickly if the data justify it."

The yield on the German 10-year government bond, considered as the region's benchmark, eased after hitting a two-month high during the day. It was last at 2.293%. [GVD/EUR]

Still, markets are pricing in nearly 130 basis points (bps) of easing this year, down from around 150 bps around two weeks ago. [0#ECBWATCH]

Norway's central bank also kept its benchmark interest rate unchanged at 4.50%, as expected by analysts. Stocks in Norway ended 0.1% higher.

Technology led sectoral gains, rising 1.8% as Dutch semiconductor equipment maker ASML (AS:ASML) continued its strong run and hit fresh record highs, advancing 4.6%.

Amsterdam shares outpaced regional peers, gaining 1.0% and touching its highest level in over two years.

Pushing German shares 0.1% higher, Adidas (ETR:ADSGN) jumped 5.7% with traders citing good news from a call with analysts ahead of the German sportswear maker's full-year results due in March.

Nokia gained 11.2% after the Finnish telecom equipment provider's fourth-quarter operating profit beat expectations.

Givaudan added 8.3% after the Swiss fragrance and flavour maker reported annual organic sales above estimates.

On the downside, heavyweight healthcare stocks fell 0.4%, while euro zone banks slipped 0.9%, with Spain's Bankinter falling 6.0% after its fourth-quarter net profit missed market expectations.

A rating downgrade from Deutsche Bank on Italy's UniCredit (LON:0RLS) also added to the sector's losses, with the stock down 1.8%.

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St James's Place shed 4.4% after the financial firm's inflows slowed on subdued risk appetite.

On the data front, a survey showed German business morale worsened unexpectedly in January, declining for the second straight month, while another report showed Spanish industrial prices fell 6.3% in the 12 months through December.