Europe open: Stoxx up as ECB rate call, Ukraine in focus

(Sharecast News) - European markets were higher at the open on Thursday amid another earnings dump as investors eyed an emergency meeting of European leaders to discuss the war in Ukraine and a monetary policy decision from the European Central Bank. The pan-regional Stoxx 600 index was 0.22% higher in early deals at 557. The ECB is widely expected to cut its key interest rate by 25 basis points to 2.5% as inflation cools across the eurozone.

Meanwhile, EU leaders will be responding to a decision by the US to suspend military aid and intelligence sharing to Ukraine in what diplomats said was an effort to strong arm Kyiv into signing a deal on minerals.

The 27-nation bloc will also discuss a ramp up in defence spending as a new arms race develops momentum. German shares surged on Wednesday as the country's prospective coalition leaders put forward plans to relax spending rules in an effort to boost defence procurement - sending government bond yields soaring.

In equity news, German shares were in focus once again, with Deutsche Post surging after the DHL owner unveiled plans to cut €1bn in costs by axing 8,000 jobs and increasing its share buyback.

Lufthansa took off as annual results came in ahead of estimates. Shares in Air France-KLM were also sky high as the group's full-year profit beat expectations.

On the downside, French gambling company La Française des jeux slumped after net profits fell 6%.

Reporting by Frank Prenesti for Sharecast.com