(Reuters) – European shares were subdued at open on Thursday on investor caution ahead of a widely expected pause in interest rate hikes from the European Central Bank, while shares of Nokia topped the index on a quarterly profit beat.
The pan-European STOXX 600 was down 0.2% by 0828 GMT after jumping more than 1% in the previous session.
Investor attention would be on the interest rate verdict from the ECB later in the day, where it is widely expected to hold rates at the current 4% level, although the central bank is likely to push back on bets for aggressive policy easing this spring.
Traders are pricing in nearly 130 basis points (bps) of cuts this year, down from around 150 bps around two weeks earlier. [0#ECBWATCH]
Nokia gained 6.2% after the Finnish telecom equipment provider’s fourth-quarter operating profit beat expectations.
European lenders were a drag, down 0.9%, with shares of Spain’s Bankinter falling 5.6% after its fourth-quarter results showed margins slowing from the previous quarter.
A rating downgrade from Deutsche Bank on Italy’s UniCredit also added to the sector’s losses, with the stock down 1.3%.
(Reporting by Shristi Achar A in Bengaluru; Editing by Eileen Soreng)
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