European Stocks Bounce Back Ahead of ECB Rate Hike

European shares rose on Thursday after their biggest selloff in two months as investors awaited a widely forecast interest rate hike from the European Central Bank.

The ECB is expected to deliver a 25-basis-point hike later in the day, which would kick off a busy period for central banks, including next week's announcements from the US Federal Reserve and the Bank of Japan.

Despite Brent crude remaining above $100 a barrel, a mark it first broke since July last month, European stocks managed to edge higher. The pan-European STOXX 600 was up 0.1% at 641.23 points, while Germany's DAX was flat and London's FTSE edged 0.1% higher.

However, shares of Associated British Foods were down 8.6%, as the company announced that Primark's like-for-like sales are expected to be down 3% in its fourth-quarter period ended September 12.