European stocks end mixed after ECB

European markets finished Thursday mostly flat amid mixed earnings reports and on the day of the first Governing Council meeting of the European Central Bank (ECB) after the Brexit vote. The central bank left interest rates and the purchase program unchanged (as expected) and Draghi signaled that more information is needed before taking another decision. Some analysts expect the introduction of more easing at the September meeting, probably by expanding the QE program.

Equity prices moved sideways during the session in Europe. The Stoxx Europe 600 index trimmed losses during the second half of the trading session and finished with a marginal decline of 0.07%. In London, the FTSE 100 retreated from the highest levels in almost a year and lost 0.43%. The UK retail sales report from June showed a larger-than-expected decline of 0.9%, after a 0.9% gain of the previous month.

In Paris the CAC declined 0.08% while in Madrid, the IBEX 35 rose 0.09%. In Frankfurt, the DAX gained 0.14%.  Italian banks that rose more than 2%. In Wall Street, stock indexes were trending lower.

European bond yields finished also flat while among currencies the Euro weakened after the ECB press conference. The Russian ruble was among the worst performers affected by a decline  in crude oil prices while the Turkish lira managed to stay above yesterday’s record lows.