ECB President Mario Draghi on Thursday all but pledged to ease policy further and even hinted at a reinterpretation of the ECB's inflation target, but this disappointed some investors who had hoped for an immediate easing of interest rates.

The pan-European stock benchmark index rose 0.1% by 0711 GMT.

The ECB disappointment stems from strongly dovish notes major central banks had struck last month that spurred a rally in stocks as investors hoped for policy easing as soon as the next meeting. Focus now shifts to the U.S. Federal Reserve, which is expected to cut rates by at least a quarter basis point next week.

Shares of Vivendi rose 4% after stellar first-half results at its Universal Music Group raised the stakes for the sale of the French media giant's most-prized asset.

Vodafone jumped 7.3% on plans to move its mobile mast operations in 10 European markets into a new company that it potentially could list.

The materials sector fell the most, with Anglo American  dropping more than 4% after the mining company's biggest shareholder billionaire Anil Agarwal said he was divesting the nearly 20% stake he had been holding since 2017.