European shares rise before ECB decision, Draghi speech

European shares advanced on Thursday midday trading, ahead of ECB rate decision and Draghi speech.  

Policymakers at the ECB are predicted to hold interest rate at its record low of 0.25 percent, yet an introduction of new monetary tools mat occur to stave off the low inflation threatening euro area recovery.

The BOE decided today to keep its monetary stance on hold for another month after the recent change in the bank’s forward guidance.  

Later in the day, the attention will shift to U.S. initial jobless claims which may show a drop in the week through March 1 from a week before.

U.S. payrolls climbed 150,000 last month, after soaring 113,000 in January, data due on March 7 may show.

As of 06:49 EST, STOXX EUROPE 600 soared 0.36% to record 338.29 points. Financials led the advance with a rise of 0.80%, followed by Industrials which recorded 0.64% rise. 

The highest shares were for Aviva PLC, as it advanced 9.42% to 510.00 GBP, while the biggest drop was recorded by Balfour Beatty as its shares plummeted 6.50% to 300.50 GBP.

Looking at other the major European indices, the French CAC index edged up 0.59% to 4417.34 levels and Britain`s FTSE 100 index recorded 0.14% advance to 6784.93 points. Germany`s DAX index rose 0.24% to 9564.62 points.