European Stocks Rise Modestly on Dovish Fed Comments

European stock indices made modest gains Thursday after dovish comments from the Fed and despite drops in fashion retailers.

Author:: Laura Board
Publish date:: Mar 19, 2015 6:25 AM EDT

LONDON (TheDeal) -- European stock indices made modest gains on Thursday on the back of dovish commentary from theFed yesterday that stoked hopes rates might not rise until the second half of 2015.

As expected, the Fed removed the word "patient" from its post-meeting statement but suggested inflation and labor market data wasn't about to spur it into action just yet.

In London, the FTSE 100 rose 0.17% to 6,957.11. In Frankfurt, the DAX was up 0.28% at 11,956.67. In Paris, the CAC 40 climbed 0.18% to 5,042.47.

Fashion retailer Next led the losers on the FTSE 100, declining more than 3% after it trimmed its guidance for the coming year on publishing strong full-year results that beat consensus expectations.

Peer Ted Baker (TBAKF) was also down, declining about 2%. Like Next, it posted strong full-year sales and profit growth but investors decided its price-to-earnings ratio looked lofty.

And luxury shoe maker and retailer Jimmy Choo (JYMHF) also fell on publishing its first full-year results since its October IPO. The figures were better than forecast and included a strong showing from its Asian retail operation.

In Frankfurt, building materials maker HeidelbergCement (HDELY) gained ground after full-year results beat expectations.

Asian stock indices ended the day largely in the green. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng jumped 1.45% to close at 24,468.89. But in Tokyo, the Nikkei fell 0.35% to 19,476.56 and the Topix fell 0.42% to 1,575.81.

In Hong Kong, China Mobile (CHL) - Get Report closed down 3.3% on full-year results that showed that an increase in customer numbers came at the expense of profit.

Hong Kong-listed casino operator Galaxy Entertainment (GXYEY) , which operates casinos in the gambling haven of Macau, closed up 2.9% after reporting rising full-year profit and revenue. It said the second half "was one of the most challenging periods in the history of Macau," because of slowing Chinese growth and a Chinese government crackdown on conspicuous consumption, as well as competition from the FIFA World Cup.

In Sydney, APN News & Media (APNDF) closed up marginally on news that News Corp. (NWSA) - Get Reportplans to lift a stake currently reported to be about 5% to 14.99%, the maximum it is able to hold without making a full takeover.