Market Analysis

European stocks saw modest gains on Thursday as investors awaited updates on inflation and insights from the European Central Bank's recent meeting. The STOXX 600 index inched up by 0.1% by 0720 GMT, with attention focused on February's producer prices report scheduled for release at 0900 GMT.

Economists surveyed by Reuters predict that the producer prices index will remain unchanged at a decline of 8.6%, consistent with January's figures.

Later in the day, market participants will scrutinize the minutes from the ECB's March meeting for clues on the timing of a potential interest rate cut, eagerly anticipated by many.

In early trading, Basilea Pharmaceutica experienced a notable surge of 9.4%, reaching a peak not seen in over six months. This surge followed the U.S. health regulator's approval of the Swiss firm's antibiotic Zevtera, which targets bacterial infections, including those resistant to multiple drugs.

Meanwhile, shares of Compugroup rose by 7.5% after receiving an upgrade in stock rating from Morgan Stanley, elevating it from "equal-weight" to "overweight".

Paraphrasing text from "UK Investing" all rights reserved by the original author.