The London and Frankfurt stock exchanges hit record highs Thursday as the Bank of England kept its interest rate at a 16-year high but raised hopes of a cut in the coming months.
Meanwhile, Wall Street rose following data showing a climb in claims for unemployment benefits that could raise the prospect of a US rate cut.
The British capital’s benchmark FTSE 100 index, which has been breaking records repeatedly in recent days, extended the rally, rising 0.3 percent.
The DAX in Frankfurt came just shy of striking 18,700 points. The Paris CAC 40 also rose after falling earlier in the day.
The Bank of England kept its key rate at 5.25 percent for a sixth meeting in a row in efforts to tame inflation, mirroring a wait-and-see approach by the US Federal Reserve and European Central Bank.
UK annual inflation fell…