Europe stocks slightly up ahead of ECB meeting; Micro Focus 20% higher on HP deal

European stock markets were slightly higher in morning trade after dipping at the open on Thursday as markets look ahead to the latest monetary policy meeting of the European Central Bank (ECB).

The pan-European STOXX 600 was up around 0.21 percent.

All eyes are on Apple after the tech giant launched the iPhone 7, wireless headphones and a new watch on Wednesday in a bid to turn around the company’s first drop in sales. Shares in the firm closed higher in the U.S. on Wednesday, but technology stocks in Europe fell.

STMicro and Dialog Semiconductor – both suppliers to Apple – were in the red.

ASML meanwhile saw shares slide after Samsung Electronics said it is selling about 6.3 million shares in the company.

Micro Focus rallies on HP deal

Hewlett Packard Enterprise said on Wednesday it plans to spin off and merge its non-core software assets with Micro Focus. Shares of Micro Focus were up over 20 percent.

Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena was trading higher after Morgan Stanley raised its outlook on the stock from “underweight” to “equal weight”.

Dixons Carphone was also near the top of the STOXX 600 after it reported a 4 percent rise in like-for-like sales in the 13 weeks ended July 30.

Pearson shares were in negative territory after its U.S. peer, John Wiley & Sons, reported a fall in earnings and revenue in its fiscal first quarter.

Elsewhere, Air France-KLM shares were higher after it said August traffic rose 1.9 percent.

ECB, Fed in focus

The ECB is expected to extend its trillion-euro bond-buying program beyond March 2017 and announce plans to expand the universe of eligible bonds as part of its efforts to kick-start the euro zone’s economy. The ECB announces its policy decision at 12.45p.m. London time and the bank’s President Mario Draghi is due to hold a press conference at 1.30 p.m.

The latest U.S. and China data are also in focus for markets. In Asia, there were declines across most markets on Thursday as investors weighed what the Fed’s Beige Book meant for U.S. interest rates.

The Beige Book, a key indicator of the U.S. economic health and closely watched by the Federal Reserve, showed moderate wage growth in coming months.

Despite the labor market nearing full employment, broad-based wage pressures have so far been slow to pick up. But if wages start to rise, that would push up inflation in the months ahead and likely spur the Fed into action.

Meanwhile China released stronger-than-expected trade data in August, as yuan-denominated exports rose 5.9 percent in August from a year earlier, while yuan-denominated imports rose 10.8 percent.

Source: CNBC