European Stocks Set to Close Higher in Thursday Trading; ECB Maintains 3 Key Interest Rates; England Cuts Rate by Quarter Point

11:59 AM EST, 12/18/2025 (MT Newswires) -- European stock markets look set to close higher in Thursday trading as the Stoxx Europe was up 0.97%, Germany's DAX was advancing 0.99%, the FTSE 100 was gaining 0.69%, France's CAC was rising 0.95%, and the Swiss Market Index was moving 0.82% higher.

The European Central Bank's Governing Council said Thursday that it has kept its three key interest rates unchanged. The interest rates on the deposit facility, the main refinancing operations, and the marginal lending facility will remain at 2.00%, 2.15% and 2.40% respectively, which analysts surveyed by Bloomberg expected.

The ECB said its assessment reconfirms that inflation should stabilize at 2% in the medium term.

In the UK, the Bank of England voted 5 to 4 to reduce the bank rate by 0.25 percentage points, to 3.75%, with the four dissenters voting to hold the rate at 4%. The move matched analyst forecasts, according to Bloomberg.

The BOE noted that since the previous meeting, inflation has fallen to 3.2%. "Although above the 2% target, it is now expected to fall back towards target more quickly in the near term," the UK central bank said.

In corporate news, BP said late Wednesday it appointed Meg O'Neill as chief executive officer, starting April 1, 2026.

O'Neill, who is currently CEO of Woodside Energy, will succeed Murray Auchincloss, who will step down as CEO and board director on Dec. 18, the company said. Auchincloss will continue in an advisory role until December 2026 to support the transition. Carol Howle, executive vice president of supply, trading, and shipping, will serve as interim CEO until O'Neill takes over.

O'Neill is currently CEO of Woodside Energy, according to the company.

Shares of the British oil and gas giant were down 1.3% on the FTSE 100.

Novo Nordisk said Thursday it has submitted a New Drug Application to the US Food and Drug Administration for once-weekly CagriSema injection in combination with a reduced-calorie diet and increased physical activity to reduce excess body weight and maintain weight reduction in adults with obesity or overweight and at least one weight-related comorbidity.

Shares of the Danish pharmaceutical company were moving 0.2% higher in Copenhagen.

German biotech firm BioNTech said Thursday it has closed its acquisition of CureVac (CVAC).

CureVac will keep its existing organizational processes, BioNTech said, adding that it will conclude the strategic, operational and scientific analyses needed to "define the future organizational and portfolio setup."

Shares of BioNTech were up 0.4% in Frankfurt.

BHP Chief Executive Mike Henry said that copper supply is going to get tighter until the end of the decade, CNBC reported Thursday, citing an interview held at the Conference de Paris.

"All it took was a few disruptions at a few copper mines around the world to all of a sudden send the market into deficit, and to see copper prices reach record highs," Henry said, according to CNBC.

Shares of the UK-based mining company were gaining close to 1%.

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