Europe close: Stocks continue to meander higher

European shares finished mostly higher on Thursday and near 10-month highs as hopes of a US stimulus package lifted investor sentiment, alongside moves to speed up Covid-19 inoculations on the continent and potential progress on a Brexit deal.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 index finished up 0.35% to 397.48, with Germany's DAX climbing 0.75% to 13,667.25, while the FTSE Mibtel was ahead by 0.25% to 22,040.71.

"Markets overall are still in a positive frame of mind, managing to find the good news in an otherwise dull Fed statement and looking forward to some progress on a US stimulus deal, the major narrative behind this market bounce," said IG chief market analyst, Chris Beauchamp.

Germany and France said they planned to roll out Pfizer-BioNtech’s Covid vaccine in the last week of December, after approval by the European Medicines Agency.

In London, investors took news that the Bank of England had kept all its main monetary policy settings unchanged in their stride.

Commenting on the BoE decision, Thomas Pugh at Capital Economics said: "The positive news on vaccines meant that the MPC didn’t feel the need to loosen policy any further at its December meeting today.

"And, as long as there is a Brexit deal, we don’t think it will need to loosen policy next year either. But if there is a no deal Brexit, the MPC may find its Christmas dinner has turned into a working lunch."

WPP shares jumped 4% as the world’s biggest advertising firm said it expects to return to its 2019 level of net sales by 2022.

On the downside, travel food outlet operator SSP Group dipped after saying it expects an 80% fall in first quarter sales as the second wave of Covid-19 hit its UK and European markets with volatility continuing into the second three months of the financial year.

The owner of Upper Crust reported an annual loss of £425m compared with £197.2m profit as the pandemic battered that global travel industry. Revenue slumped 47% on a constant currency basis to £1.43bn.