Stoxx 600, FTSE, DAX, BOE decision

LONDON — European stocks moved higher on Thursday, as traders evaluated the latest monetary policy updates from the Bank of England and the Federal Reserve.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 provisionally closed 0.8% higher, with most sectors and all major regional bourses in positive territory.

On Thursday, the Bank of England held its key interest rate steady at 4% in a move that had been widely anticipated by economists.

The British pound lost ground in the wake of policy update, to fall around 0.6% against the U.S. dollar. Meanwhile, U.K. government borrowing costs ticked higher, with the yield on the benchmark 10-year gilt adding 4 basis points.

Global markets also assessed the Fed’s decision to cut its benchmark overnight lending rate by 25 basis points on Wednesday.

During a press conference following the decision, Fed Chair Jerome Powell put a damper on investor hopes that the central bank would be on a lengthy rate-cutting path this year, as he called the latest cut “risk management.”

Among the stocks pulling the Stoxx 600 higher was Novo Nordisk, which gained 6.2%. In a recent update, the Danish pharmaceutical giant said that trials had shown its Wegovy obesity pill had led to “significant” weight loss in participants.

Shares of Zealand Pharma rose toward the top of the index, adding 8%. It came after Deutsche Bank hiked its target price for the stock by 7.5%.

“We very belatedly update post ZEAL’s Q2 results mid-August,” Deutsche Bank’s Emmanuel Papadakis said in a note distributed on Wednesday. “Whilst valuation remains very undemanding in the context of the Roche deal terms, we remain circumspect on whether that presents an opportunity given corporate development plans/timelines and the evolution of the amylin landscape has been largely as we anticipated.”

— CNBC’s Jeff cox contributed to this market report.