In European Equity Markets the pan-European Stoxx 600 climbed 0.6% by the close, with healthcare stocks rising 1.5% to lead gains while telecoms fell 1.2% as one of only two sectors trading in the red, alongside technology. Finland’s Nokia fell more than 23% after cutting its full-year profit guidance for 2019 and 2020, citing tough competition and further investments. German chemical maker BASF reported a fall in third-quarter net profit and sales, but shares added 3.4%. Daimler announced a third-quarter net profit rise of 8%, sending its shares 3.3% higher.

In Currency Markets the euro erased its earlier gains on Thursday after business surveys pointed to stagnating economic momentum in the euro zone, ahead of Mario Draghi’s final news conference as president of the European Central Bank. The euro was unchanged after the ECB’s decision. It had earlier given up initial gains on the weaker than expected Purchasing Managers’ Index and was last flat on the day at $1.1126, having earlier traded at $1.1163. The Australian dollar was down 0.3% versus the U.S. dollar and the New Zealand dollar fell as much as 0.5%.

In Commodities Markets oil prices climbed on Thursday, with Brent rising above $61 a barrel as a surprise drop in U.S. crude inventories and the prospect of further market-supporting action by OPEC and its allies offset some concern over the outlook for demand. U.S. inventories fell by 1.7 million barrels in the week to Oct. 18, and one analyst said stocks could fall further in coming weeks. OPEC and its allies meet in early December and could, officials have said, opt to deepen supply curbs.Brent crude was up 39 cents at $61.56 a barrel, having risen 2.5% on Wednesday.

In US Equity Markets a rise in shares of Microsoft and PayPal boosted the Nasdaq on Thursday, but poor earnings reports from Twitter and 3M dragged down the S&P 500 and Dow Jones indexes, taking the shine off what has been an upbeat earnings season so far. Twitter Inc fell about 18% to a seven-month low after the social media platform posted disappointing quarterly results. The S&P 500 was down 0.06%, at 3,002.65. The Nasdaq Composite added 0.31%, at 8,144.85. The wider communication services sector fell 0.9%, logging the biggest decline among the 11 major S&P 500 sectors.

In Bond Markets Euro zone bond yields traded marginally lower after the European Central Bank kept interest rates unchanged on Thursday, with President Mario Draghi saying in his last press conference that negative interest rates have been a “very positive experience.” German 10-year government bond yields were essentially flat at -0.40%, with Italian 10-year yields down 3.4 bps at 1% and French 10-year yields down 1.2% bps at -0.105%.