European Stocks In Limbo As ECB Stands Pat

(RTTNews) - European stocks were little changed on Thursday, giving back modest early gains after European Central Bank Mario Draghi hinted that policy makers have no plans for further monetary stimulus.

Following yesterday's better-than-expected euro zone GDP report, the ECB this morning kept its benchmark interest rate unchanged at a record low 0.25 percent.

Also today, the Bank of England maintained its rate at an all-time low of 0.5 percent and its bond-purchase plan at 375 billion pounds.

The Euro Stoxx 50 was up 0.22 percent at 3,142.97. The gauge is down more than 2 percent so far this week, mostly due to tensions between Russia and Ukraine.

Looking at markets around Europe today, London's FTSE rose 0.19 percent to 6,788, Germany's DAX lost a point to 9,540.66, and France's CAC 40 gained 0.55 percent to 4,415.

In Germany, Continental was up 5.4 percent after the tire maker said it sees growth in sales.

Hochtief gained 1.3 percent. Commerzbank raised the stock to ''Hold'' from ''Reduce.''

Merck KgaA declined 4.3 percent. The company's quarterly sales were hurt by negative currency impacts.

Deutsche Telekom fell 3.3 percent. The company reported a loss for the fourth quarter.

Elsewhere, Bouygues SA rallied 6.5 percent after it bid 10.5 billion euros for SFR, Vivendi SA's French phone business.

Also in Paris, Vivendi rival Orange rallied 11 percent on encouraging earnings projections.

In the UK, insurer Aviva Plc jumped 8 percent after saying operating income increased.

Aggreko Plc jumped 3.1 percent after saying it will return 200 million pounds to shareholders despite lower profits.

Schroders added 5 percent after raising its dividend and reporting a large increase in annual profits.

Swiss computer interface devices maker Logitech confirmed the high end of its fiscal 2014 financial outlook. The stock was up 3.9 percent.