European stocks rose on a morning full of business results, eyes are on the ECB decision

European stocks rose on Thursday as traders reacted to a slew of earnings reports in the morning and awaited the European Central Bank’s monetary policy decision after the Federal Reserve raised interest rates as expected.

And by 0713 GMT, the European STOXX 600 index rose 0.4 percent, after Asian stocks rose amid optimism that the US monetary tightening cycle had ended after the Federal Reserve on Wednesday raised interest rates by 25 basis points to a range between 5.25 percent and 5.50 percent.

The European Central Bank is expected to raise interest rates for the ninth time in a row later on Thursday and keep the door open for further moves. The decision is due at 1215 GMT.

On a busy day of results, Nestle rose 1.2% after the world’s largest packaged food company raised its full-year sales forecast for its core business and reported better-than-expected first-half sales as it raised prices again.

BNP Paribas rose 2.3 percent after the euro zone’s largest bank reported second-quarter net income that beat analysts’ estimates.