Europe: Shares up for 6th day ahead of ECB decision

[LONDON] European shares rose for a six straight day early on Thursday as investors bet on the size and shape of a sovereign bond-buying programme the European Central Bank is expected to unveil later in the day.

Market expectations are sky-high for the ECB to unveil a large-scale programme of quantitative easing (QE).

A eurozone source said on Wednesday the Executive Board proposed that the bank should buy 50 billion euros (US$58 billion) in bonds per month from March.

"At the moment we are pretty much flat (on our trading book)," Markus Huber, a senior trader at Peregrine & Black, said.

"QE itself is in the market except its size and how long it will last. Anything less than 500 billion euros (in total) would be definitely a disappointment if it's just a year, that's also already in the market."

Among single stocks, Remy Cointreau rose nearly 2 per cent after reported third quarter cognac sales well ahead of forecasts, driven by robust demand for premium qualities in the United States.

REUTERS