LONDON: European stocks advanced in opening deals on Thursday, ahead of an interest rate decision from the Bank of England.

London's benchmark FTSE 100 index gained 0.2 percent to 7,090.18 points, with the BoE widely forecast to hold rates at a record low 0.1 percent at 1100 GMT.

In the eurozone, Frankfurt's DAX 30 climbed 0.5 percent to 15,530.31 points and the Paris CAC 40 also won 0.5 percent to 6,586.25.

Asian equities meanwhile traded mixed as investors took a breather after the latest rally, while they try to assess when the Federal Reserve will begin to wind down its vast monetary easing programme.