European stocks open mixed on Fed’s decision, earnings

Banks rose 0.9%, while technology and oil and gas stocks both pulled back 0.9%

European stocks opened mixed on Thursday as global markets reacted to the U.S. Fed’s latest monetary policy decision and a string of corporate earnings.

The Stoxx 600 index was up 0.5% at 8:05 a.m. in London, with sectors spread between losses and gains. Banks climbed 0.9%, while technology, oil and gas stocks pulled back 0.9%.

Central bank policymakers kept rates steady in their May meeting, holding at a range of 5.25% to 5.5%, as expected. Fed Chair Jerome Powell said it was not likely that the central bank’s next move will be a rate hike.

The comment spurred a rally for the three major U.S. averages Wednesday, with the Dow soaring more than 500 points in its session high.

Asia-Pacific markets were mostly up overnight as traders reacted to the Federal Reserve’s stance, while U.S. stock futures gained as investors looked ahead to more corporate earnings due Thursday.

It is a busy day for earnings in Europe Thursday. The region’s largest company, Novo Nordisk, beat profit estimates as demand for its weight loss drugs continued to grow. Oil giant Shell also outperformed on higher refining margins and robust oil trading.

Dutch bank ING was up 5% in early deals after announcing a 2.5 billion euro ($2.7 billion) share buyback.

AXA, ArcelorMittal, Orsted, Vestas, Hugo Boss, Pandora and Standard Chartered are among the other companies reporting.

Data releases include Swiss inflation figures for April and Italian producer prices for March.

European stocks had a choppy start to Thursday trade amid a flurry of earnings, with major exchanges trading mixed.

The benchmark Stoxx 600 index lost early gains to trade 0.14% lower by 8:56 a.m. in London. The U.K.’s FTSE 100 added 0.45%, while France’s CAC 40 shed 0.8%. Germany’s DAX was 0.1% lower.