LONDON: Europe's main stock markets rose on Thursday after the European Central Bank signalled it would review its monetary policy stance in December, raising expectations of more economic stimulus in the euro area.
"The degree of monetary policy accommodation will need to be re-examined at our December meeting," ECB chief Mario Draghi told a news conference, after the guardian of the euro held its key interest rate unchanged at 0.05 percent.
For now, the ECB council meeting in Malta on Thursday took no new measures to boost chronically-weak inflation in the 19 countries that share the euro, with Draghi adding that "inflation rates will remain very low in the near term".
After Draghi's comments, Frankfurt's DAX 30 jumped 2.02 percent to 10,445.42 points and the Paris CAC 40 soared 2.26 percent in afternoon trade to 4,801.39 points compared with Wednesday's close.
"As expected his (Draghi's) repeated mantra about the ECB implementing additional stimulus measures if needed, as a tool to promote economic growth within Europe was approved by market participants," said FXTM research analyst Lukman Otunuga.
London's benchmark FTSE 100 index edged up 0.03 percent to stand at 6,350.27 points in afternoon deals, with traders mostly brushing aside upbeat British retail sales data.
In foreign exchange deals, the ECB's comments sent the euro, tumbling to $1.1168 from $1.1339 late on Wednesday in New York.
"Mario Draghi's extremely dovish comments hit the currency markets like a double espresso -- jolting them out of the torpor with which they had greeted the ECB's decision to hold interest rates," said David Lamb, head of dealing at foreign exchange specialists FEXCO.
"Such a strong signal that the European money presses will be set rolling again soon has sent the euro slumping."
US stocks opened higher on Thursday, following European equity markets upward on ECB hints of more monetary stimulus in December.
Five minutes into trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.75 percent at 17,296.55.
The broad-based S&P 500 rose 0.65 percent to 2,032.14, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index also climbed 0.65 percent to 4,871.78.
In Asia on Thursday, Shanghai stocks rallied after a fall of more than three percent the previous day, as dealers bet on fresh stimulus for China's economy before a key Communist Party meeting next week.
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