FTSE 100 tracks broader Europe higher after ECB holds rates
A rally in banks and consumer stocks saw London's FTSE 100 reverse session losses on Thursday, moving in line with other European peers as investors scaled back bets of interest rate hikes by the European Central Bank.
ECB on track to unwind stimulus after inflation warning
The European Central Bank confirmed plans on Thursday to end its hallmark stimulus scheme in the third quarter, worried that high inflation could become entrenched, even as the war in Ukraine left the outlook exceptionally uncertain.
Inflation in Russia hits highest in more than 20 years
Annual inflation in Russia accelerated to 17.49% as of April 8, its highest since February 2002 and up from 16.70% a week earlier, the economy ministry said on Wednesday, as the volatile rouble sent prices soaring amid unprecedented Western sanctions.
European stocks steady ahead of ECB meeting
European shares were little changed on Wednesday as investors digested glum inflation data and its impact on the upcoming earnings season ahead of a key European Central Bank meeting on Thursday, while commodity-linked sectors gained on supply worries.
Russia’s economy set for biggest contraction since 1994, Kudrin says
Russia's economy is on track to contract by more than 10% in 2022, the biggest fall in gross domestic product since the years following the 1991 fall of the Soviet Union, former finance minister Alexei Kudrin said on Tuesday.