European Equities Stabilize Ahead of ECB Interest Rate Decision

The European Central Bank's interest rate decision has traders on edge as the pan-European STOXX 600 index inched up 0.1% on Thursday, recovering slightly from a 1.4% drop to its lowest level since late July.

A rapid sequence of macroeconomic and geopolitical shocks have led market expectations to shift dramatically, with money markets now fully pricing in a 25-basis-point interest rate increase, taking the benchmark deposit rate to 2.50%.

Preliminary Eurostat figures showed Eurozone headline CPI accelerating to 3.3% year-on-year, driven chiefly by a 14.3% spike in energy components.