European markets rise as ECB kept interest rates and stimulus unchanged

On Thursday the euro advanced and stocks gained after the European Central Bank kept interest rates and stimulus unchanged and as traders awaited more policy clues from Mario Draghi.

The common currency climbed to the strongest level against the dollar in almost three years on a closing basis, maintaining most of the advance after the ECB announcement. The greenback fell against most G-10 peers as North Korea tensions and the increasingly cloudy Fed outlook outweighed positive sentiment from the U.S. debt ceiling extension. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index was led higher by technology companies, while core bonds across the region declined. S&P 500 Index futures were flat and Treasuries rose. Investors are also watching Hurricane Irma, which is headed for Florida. West Texas Intermediate crude slipped.

The Stoxx Europe 600 Index rose 0.5 percent as of 7:46 a.m. New York time. Germany’s DAX Index jumped 1 percent to the highest in seven weeks on the largest increase in more than two weeks. The U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index rose 0.4 percent, the biggest advance in a week. Futures on the S&P 500 Index increased less than 0.05 percent.

The Topix index rose 0.4 percent at the close in Tokyo, while the Kospi index in South Korea was up 1.1 percent and Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index was flat. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 0.3 percent as Chinese indexes fluctuated. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index climbed 0.4 percent.

Gold gained 0.3 percent to $1,338.81 an ounce. West Texas Intermediate crude dipped 0.2 percent to $49.04 a barrel, the first retreat in more than a week. Copper sank 0.8 percent to $3.13 a pound, the first retreat in more than a week and the biggest dip in four weeks. The London Metal Exchange Index of six industrial metals dropped 1.4 percent, declining a second day.