Europe: Equities climb after Fed hike

EUROPEAN stock markets advanced at the open on Thursday (Jul 28), as investors digested another hefty US interest rate hike to combat decades-high inflation, and amid a flood of corporate earnings.

London's benchmark FTSE 100 index climbed 0.3 per cent to 7,368.81 points in initial deals.

Frankfurt's DAX index added 0.4 per cent to 13,215.34 points and the Paris CAC 40 rose by 0.5 per cent to 6,290.48.

The US Federal Reserve lifted US interest rates by 0.75 percentage points, in line with expectations, in a bid to tackle runaway inflation.

There is a growing concern that the sharp rise in rates is bearing down on the world's top economy and could send it into a painful recession.

All eyes are now on the release of second-quarter growth data later Thursday.

After a 1.6-per cent contraction in the previous 3 months, another negative reading would put the economy into a technical recession. AFP