Europe: Stock markets dip at open

[LONDON] European stock markets eased at the open Thursday, as the Bank of England looks set to announce its first interest-rate rise in a decade.

All eyes will also be on the United States, as President Donald Trump looks set to replace Federal Reserve chief Janet Yellen with a governor of the central bank, Jerome Powell.

At the start of European trading, London's benchmark FTSE 100 index fell fractionally to 7,486.44 points compared with the close on Wednesday.

In the eurozone, Frankfurt's DAX 30 dropped 0.1 per cent to 13,448.52 points and the Paris CAC 40 slipped by around the same amount to 5,510.96.

At 1200 GMT, the Bank of England is widely expected to announce an increase in its key interest rate to 0.50 percent from a record-low 0.25 percent in a bid to tame high British inflation.

As expected, the Fed on Wednesday kept US interest rates unchanged as it reported that the world's biggest economy was growing at a "solid pace". That statement solidified the view the US central bank is likely to raise interest rates in December, analysts said.

AFP