The European Central Bank left rates and Asset purchases on hold at its monthly meeting. But in a hawkish move, it removed the pledge to use “all the instruments at its disposal” if necessary to achieve its mandates. The TLTRO facility was not reinstated, and the ECB pledged that it continued to move forth with its QE taper to 60 billion euros next months. President Mario Draghi says this has been dropped because the “sense of urgency” has gone, suggesting the ECB is less worried about the situation.
Among the stocks moving in Europe, are William Morrison and BMW. The UK retailer reported a near 50% jump in pretax profits but warned of the “impact on imported food prices if sterling stays at lower levels”. BMW is a big mover in Germany, but its shares do not reflect the record revenue it reported. With profitability at the lowest level since 2010 shares dropped around 4%. Since a high in March 2015, BMW shares have fallen by nearly a third.
Oil is also on the move, which has fallen below $50 for the first time this year. Data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration revealed an 8.2 million barrel increase in domestic crude supplies for last week, lifting total commercial inventories to a record weekly level of 528.4 million barrels. The weekly climb was the ninth in a row.
--- Written by Katie Pilbeam, DailyFX
