London — Stocks returned to near record highs in Europe on Thursday as investors bet on the European Central Bank keeping its stimulus taps open as long as Covid-19 remains a threat to growth.
Among the standouts, shares in consumer goods giant Unilever sank 4.4% after it warned that surging commodity costs would squeeze its full-year operating margin, overshadowing solid second-quarter sales growth.“The ECB is going to do precisely what the market expects,” said Michael Hewson, chief markets analyst at CMC Markets.
Investors will scrutinise her guidance on inflation as the debate over when huge pandemic-era stimulus should be reined back continues among central bankers in Europe and the US. There was no obvious catalyst for the recent rebound in stocks, or for the drawdown on Friday and Monday, though a study on Wednesday showed Pfizer and AstraZeneca vaccines were effective against the Delta variant.
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