(MENAFN- AFP) Europe's main stock markets steadied on Thursday, as investors awaited the outcome of monetary policy meetings being held by the ECB and Bank of England.
London's benchmark FTSE 100 index dipped 0.12 percent to stand at 6,531.20 points nearing midday in the British capital.
Frankfurt's DAX 30 won 0.14 percent to 9,328.81 points and in Paris the CAC 40 nudged up 0.04 percent to 4,210.18 compared with Wednesday's closing value.
"The general mood in the market today is one of caution with traders taking profits from yesterday's rally ahead of the Bank of England and ECB rate setting meetings," said Tony Cross, market analyst at Trustnet Direct trading group.
European equities had rallied on Wednesday as traders welcomed the Republican victory in the US midterm elections.
The gains erased losses posted Tuesday after the European Union slashed its economic forecasts for the eurozone.
Asian stock markets diverged on Thursday following a record-high close on Wall Street.
The European Central Bank is likely to hold fire on any new policy measures Thursday even as the clouds continue to darken over the euro area economy, analysts said.
Despite growing pressure for more action to ward off the spectre of deflation in the single currency area, ECB President Mario Draghi will likely argue that a raft of previous radical measures still need time to make an impact.
In any case, the ECB does not have much room to cut its key interest rate further as it is already at 0.05 percent, an all-time low.
The Bank of England is meanwhile widely expected to keep its main lending rate at 0.50 percent.
"The big news stories of the European session are likely to come out of the central banks, with both the BoE and ECB announcing their latest monetary policy decisions," said Joshua Mahony, research analyst at Alpari trading group.
In foreign exchange deals, the euro advanced to $1.2524 from $1.2484 late in New York on Wednesday.
The European single currency climbed to 78.53 British pence from 78.15 pence. The British pound fell to $1.5950 from $1.5973 on Wednesday.
British industrial production grew in September, official data showed on Thursday.
Output rose 0.6 percent in September from activity in August, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said in a statement. Over 12 months, output climbed by 1.5 percent.
On the London Bullion Market, gold prices gained to $1,144.50 an ounce from $1,142 an ounce on Wednesday.
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