European stocks traded higher on Thursday, as investors reacted to dovish comments from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell and awaited interest-rate decisions from the European Central Bank and the Bank of England later in the day.
Both central banks are expected to raise rates by 50 basis points and ECB President Lagarde's press conference will be the key driver for markets.
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May 01, 2026 15:54 ET Central banks dominated the economics news flow this week with almost all major ones announcing their latest policy decisions and many boosted expectations for a rate hike in June. In other news, several countries released the preliminary data for first quarter economic growth. In the U.S., comments by Fed Chair Jerome Powell were also in focus as his term ends this month.