Europe stocks close largely lower; BoE holds rates

European stocks closed largely lower Thursday, as crude prices hit fresh lows and the Bank of England (BoE) held its key interest rate unchanged.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 was around 0.6 percent lower during the afternoon.

The French CAC index closed just below the flatline, as did Britain’s FTSE 100, which pared gains after the BoE rate decision.

The BoE maintained its key interest rate at 0.5 percent. However, there was a split among of the rate-setting committee, with Ian McCafferty the one member in favor of hiking rates to 0.75 percent.

Sterling reacted negatively, falling over 0.5 percent against the dollar after the decision came out.

Among the other major European bourses, Germany’s DAX dropped 0.4 percent lower.

Greek stocks rebounded to close up 3.7 percent in their fourth day of trade after re-opening.

The country’s banking stocks staged a comeback, after a three-day hammering, with the National Bank of Greece closing up over 27 percent.

European and U.S. stocks were hit by a rout in oil prices. Brent crude and WTI light crude traded near their lowest levels since March, with Brent below $49 per barrel and WTI around $44.30.

Oil and gas stocks in Europe were hit, ending down around 1.7 percent on average. Tullow Oil was the worst performer, closing 7.8 percent lower.

Source: CNBC