EUROPEAN STOCKS END STRONG AS MARKETS CHEER FED RATE DECISION

BRUSSELS/FRANKFURT/PARIS, Sept 20 (Bernama-dpa) -- European stocks closed on a strong note on Thursday with investors cheering the US Federal Reserve's decision to cut interest rates by 50 basis points and its forecast for more reductions in future, the German news agency (dpa) reported.

Investors also digested the Bank of England's (BoE) widely anticipated move to hold interest rates unchanged. The BoE signalled a gradual approach to monetary easing in coming decisions, while also extending its bond reduction plan for another one year.

BoE's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) headed by Andrew Bailey voted by a majority of 8-1 to hold the Bank Rate at 5 per cent. At the August meeting, the MPC had voted in a tight 5-4 vote to cut the rate by a quarter point from a 16-year high of 5.25 per cent.

On Thursday, the MPC unanimously voted to reduce the stock of UK government bond purchases by £100 billion over the next twelve months, to a total of £558 billion.

Shares of energy firms and miners moved higher on strong commodity prices. Carmakers shares moved higher despite Europe's new car registrations posting a steep decline in August.

The pan European Stoxx 600 closed with a gain of 1.38 per cent. The UK's FTSE 100 gained 0.91 per cent, Germany's DAX climbed 1.55 per cent, and France's CAC 40 ended up 2.29 per cent, while Switzerland's SMI gained 0.63 per cent.

Among other markets in Europe, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Iceland, Netherlands, Norway, Russia, Spain, Sweden, and Turkiye, closed with sharp to moderate gains.

Portugal ended weak, while Poland closed flat.

In the UK market, Rolls-Royce Holdings rallied by nearly 6 per cent. Fresnillo, Antofagasta, Ashtead Group, JD Sports Fashion and Spirax Group saw gains ranging from 4 to 4.6 per cent.

Weir Group, Anglo American Plc, IMI, Pershing Square Holdings, Easyjet, Rio Tinto, Burberry Group, Prudential, Scottish Mortgage, Halma, Diageo, 3i Group, Sage Group and Hikma Pharmaceuticals gained between 2.5 per cent and 4 per cent.

Melrose Industries, Natwest Group, BP, HSBC Holdings, Entain, Smiths Group, RightMove and Frasers Group also ended sharply higher.

Next moved higher after raising its annual profit forecast. Online grocer Ocado soared by 2.7 per cent after upgrading its revenue guidance.

In the German market, HeidelbergCement climbed by nearly 4.5 per cent. Bayer, Adidas, Beiersdorf, SAP, BASF, Siemens Energy, Daimler Truck Holding, Brenntag, Siemens, Mercedes-Benz, Rheinmetall, MTU Aero Engines, Infineon, BMW, and Zalando posted gains between 2 per cent and 4 per cent. RWE, E.ON, Vonovia and Deutsche Telekom declined sharply. Fresenius and Commerzbank also ended notably lower.

In the French market, Saint-Gobain, Hermes International, Eurofins Scientific, Safran and Schneider Electric gained 4 to 4.5 per cent.

ArcelorMittal, Airbus Group, L'Oreal, Pernod Ricard, STMicroElectronics, Dassault Systemes, Edenred, LVMH, Publicis Groupe, Accor, Kering, TotalEnergies, Thales and Legrand also moved up sharply.

Stellantis climbed higher after refuting claims made by the United Auto Workers, including allegations that it planned to relocate production of the Dodge Durango out of the US.

Engie and Unibail Rodamco both ended lower by more than 2 per cent. Orange and Bouygues also closed notably lower.

-- BERNAMA-dpa