European shares ended higher, extending a winning streak to four days as central banks kept rates on hold as expected and as financials gained.
The European Central Bank joined the Bank of England in keeping its main interest rate steady, as expected, and strategists said that it was positive that the predictable had transpired.
However, the main markets were mixed with London's FTSE up 0.2% to 6,548 points. Frankfurt’s DAX slipped just 0.13% to 7,945, while in Paris the CAC lost a marginal 0.03% to 5,804.
Nordic forestry groups UPM Kymmene and Stora Enso were the top two percentage losers, falling 7.7% and 5.5% respectively after Deutsche Bank downgraded its outlook for the sector.
Belgian-Dutch financial services group Fortis gained 5.5% as the takeover battle for ABN AMRO draws to a close and after the European Union conditionally cleared its acquisition of parts of ABN.
Wall Street shares showed scant movement as investors braced for the release of a monthly job survey which will offer fresh insight into the health of the US economy.
The Dow Jones was up a slight 0.01% to 13,966 points. The index closed at a record high of 14,088 yesterday. The Nasdaq had gained 0.05% to 2,731.
In Dublin, the ISEQ was up 44 points to 8,411 at 5pm. Elan added over 2% and was up 37 cent to €15.64.
Earlier, Japanese share prices closed 0.6% lower. Tokyo's Nikkei fell 107 to 17,092. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index closed down 505.96 points at 26,974.
