(MENAFN- AFP) Europe's main stock markets rose solidly on Thursday as traders remained unfazed by the lack of action at the ECB and Bank of England.The European Central Bank held its key interest rates steady with bank head Mario Draghi brushing off widespread talk that damaging deflation was becoming a threat to the eurozone.Traders also pored over earnings results, including from Daimler and Vodafone.London's benchmark FTSE 100 index rose 0.74 percent to 6,505.81 points.Frankfurt's DAX 30 gained 0.39 percent to 9,152.28 points and in Paris the CAC 40 index grew 0.95 percent to stand at 4,158.29 compared with Wednesday's closing levels. The euro rose against the dollar and the pound.As expected, the ECB left its central "refi" or refinancing rate unchanged at 0.25 percent at its monthly policy meeting.There had been speculation that the central bank could ease monetary conditions in the 18 countries that share the euro after area-wide inflation came in at a lower than expected 0.7 percent last month.But Draghi said Thursday that the euro area is not experiencing deflation -- a widespread sustained fall in prices -- even though inflation is low. He insisted that what the euro area was currently experiencing was disinflation, a period of very low inflation, but not deflation."We already acted in November," when the ECB pared back its interest rates to their current ultra-low levels, Draghi said.The BoE meanwhile voted to keep its main interest rate at a record-low level of 0.50 percent, where it has now stood for nearly five years.Opting against following the US Federal Reserve in tapering, the BoE also decided to maintain stimulus at £375 billion. It is intended to boost bank lending and economic activity.The BoE made no mention of any strategy change on Thursday.However, many economists predict that the British central bank could choose to overhaul its guidance next Wednesday alongside its latest quarterly economic forecasts.In foreign exchange, the European single currency rose to $1.3606 from $1.3533 late in New York on Wednesday.The euro also gained to 83.40 British pence from 82.87 pence, while the British pound slid to $1.6304 from $1.6308 on Wednesday.The price of gold gained to $1.258.50 an ounce from $1.254.50 an ounce on Wednesday.On the corporate front, the share price of Daimler rallied 2.25 percent to 62.21 euros after the German luxury automaker said it achieved record sales and profits in 2013, adding that it expects "significant" growth again this year.Vodafone shares rose by 2.76 percent to 221.85 pence as the British mobile phone giant said strong sales across emerging markets helped to offset strains in Europe.US stocks opened higher on Thursday though social media giant Twitter nosedived.A few minutes into trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.58 percent to 15,529.82.The broad-based S&P 500 rose 0.54 percent to 1,761.11, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index gained 0.71 percent to 4,040.65.Leading microblogging host Twitter dropped 24 percent after it reported disappointing user statistics in its quarterly earnings report late Wednesday.
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