Lagarde to step down as ECB president on February 7; Shell and TotalEnergies lift European stocks
The ECB said Christine Lagarde will leave on February 7, before her term ends in 2027, hours before a policy meeting expected to hold rates at 2.5%. Strong earnings pushed the STOXX 600 to a more than one-month high.
European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde will step down on February 7, the central bank said on Thursday, hours before its policy announcement, Reuters reports. The news ends speculation that she might leave before her term was due to expire in 2027.
Rate decision
The ECB was widely expected to keep its key rate at 2.5% at its meeting (announcement at 13:15 GMT). According to Reuters, the bank has been raising rates to stop higher energy costs linked to the Iran conflict from feeding into wider inflation and wages. Euro zone bond yields have risen sharply in recent weeks, especially for France amid debt and political worries.
Earnings lift stocks
- The pan-European STOXX 600 rose 0.4% to 646.69 points, its highest since early September.
- Shell rose 3.4% to a record after its highest quarterly profit since 2022 and larger buybacks.
- TotalEnergies gained 1.9% after third-quarter profit more than doubled to $9.1 billion.
- Airbus added 2.6% after keeping its full-year targets; Renault jumped 6.6% on a 1.4% revenue rise.
- Banks lagged, led by a 4.9% fall in BBVA after mixed results.
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