European stocks rise ahead of rate decisions

Europe's main stock markets advanced on Thursday morning ahead of interest rate decisions from the European Central Bank and the Bank of England. London's benchmark FTSE 100 index of top companies added 0.13 percent to 5,833.37 points, Frankfurt's DAX 30 won 0.36 percent to 7,348.39 points and in Paris the CAC 40 gained 0.17 percent to 3,411.91. Madrid's IBEX 35 index increased 0.72 percent to 7,880.80 points before the outcome of crucial bond auctions. In foreign exchange activity, meanwhile, the euro climbed to $1.2945 from $1.2903 late in New York on Wednesday. Later today, at 1100 GMT, the Bank of England will announce the outcome of its latest monetary policy meeting and is expected to maintain its stimulus plans and keep its key interest rate at a record-low 0.50 percent. Shortly afterwards, at 1145 GMT, the European Central Bank is forecast to hold interest rates and other policy moves as it takes stock of the market impact of its latest plans to fight the eurozone sovereign debt crisis, analysts say. "It's all about the central banks today, starting with the meeting of the BoE," said Alpari analyst James Hughes. "No change is expected in monetary policy this month, with the central bank likely to wait until next month when it will know if the UK moved out of recession in the third quarter." He added: "This will be followed by the ECB rate decision and press conference. With the interest rate expected to remain at 0.75 percent, Mario Draghi is likely to questioned on the progress being made on bailout discussions with Spain." "Spain continues to hold out against a bailout... Given the reluctance of Spain to show its hand at this stage there is a possibility that demand might struggle in the face of the bailout uncertainty," said CMC Markets analyst Michael Hewson. Across in Ljubljana, Slovenia, where the ECB is holding its monthly monetary policy meeting, investors will pay particular attention to president Mario Draghi's comments on Spain, dealers said. "Investors will also be meticulously analysing any indications from the ECB during a conference today as to whether Spain is actually any closer to requesting a bailout," said Spreadex trader Shavaz Dhalla. "The ECB's main financing rate is expected to stay at 0.75 percent as policymakers await requests from any struggling eurozone nations, specifically Spain, for help in order to active the new bond programme." Last month, Draghi vowed to ride to the aid of countries like Spain by buying unlimited volumes of bonds to drive down borrowing costs, sending markets soaring as investors saw a turning point in the crisis. But after a period of calm, markets have suffered fresh volatility amid doubts over whether Spain will apply for a bailout necessary for ECB help and continued problems in Greece, the origin of the near three-year euro crisis. Asian markets mostly rose on Thursday as investors cheered upbeat US economic data, but nagging concerns over Europe kept advances in check. Sentiment was lifted by Wall Street, which ended in positive territory after jobs and services figures provided some hope for the economy. Investors will focus Friday on eagerly-anticipated non-farm payrolls data.