European stocks close marginally lower as markets digest U.S. data and BOE hike; mining firms down 3%

Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey speaks to CNBC's Joumanna Bercetche after the central bank's rate decision and growth upgrade.

Clemens Jungsthöfel, CFO at Hannover Re, discusses first-quarter earnings, and his outlook for operations in the face of a sticky inflationary environment.

Marcus Kuhnert, CFO of Merck KGaA, discusses the company first-quarter results.

Simon Wells, chief European economist at HSBC, weighs in on the U.K.'s monetary policy outlook, saying it may be prudent to wait and see what impact elevated interest rates will have on the economy.

European equities showed little initial movement in response to the Bank of England's decision to raise interest rates by 0.25%, in line with forecasts by analysts polled by Reuters.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 index moved from a 0.4% uptick to 0.3% in the minutes after the announcement, and the banking sector dropped from a 0.4% gain to a 0.2% increase.

Britain's central bank voted to lift its policy rate by 0.25 percentage points in its 12th consecutive hike.

— Hannah Ward-Glenton

Eurogroup President Paschal Donohoe said it is "vital" that the U.S. reaches a deal over the debt ceiling and is confident that President Joe Biden will achieve that.

German pharma firm Bayer posted the steepest decline in morning trade, with shares down 7.2%. The company said in its first-quarter update it expects its annual results to come in at the lower end of its guidance.

British television channel ITV dipped 5.3% after reporting digital growth but a fall in overall revenues; while Volkswagen fell 5.1% after a turbulent investor meeting interrupted by activists calling for an investigation into its joint-owned plant in China's Xinjiang region.

Leading Stoxx 600 movers, Danish biotech company Genmab climbed 6.4% despite reporting a fall in year-on-year profit, with revenues and net sales both higher.

Shares of Philips rose 4% following its AGM on Monday. On Tuesday, Philips shareholders voted against against discharging the board of its responsibilities for 2022, Reuters reported, a year in which its share price plunged amid a recall of respiratory devices.

— Jenni Reid

European stock markets were higher early Thursday following the key U.S. inflation print and with a Bank of England monetary policy decision coming at midday London time.

The benchmark Stoxx 600 index was up 0.5%, with France's CAC 40 up 0.7%, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 up 0.4% and Germany's DAX up 0.3%.

— Jenni Reid

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said the idea of U.S. lawmakers letting the nation default on its debt should be "unthinkable."

Speaking to reporters ahead of the G-7 finance ministers and central bank governors meetings in Niigata, Japan, Yellen said she was aware of former President Donald Trump's suggestion for Republican lawmakers to let the nation to default.

"America should never default," she said. "Something that would so badly undermine the U.S. and global economy, I think it should be regarded by everyone as unthinkable."

When asked about steps the Biden administration could take in the wake of a default, Yellen emphasized that lawmakers must raise the debt ceiling.

"There is no good alternative that will save us from catastrophe. I don't want to get into ranking which bad alternative is better than others, but the only reasonable thing is to raise the debt ceiling and to avoid the dreadful consequences that will come," she told reporters.

– Jihye Lee

The Bank of England is expected to hike interest rates for the 12th consecutive meeting on Thursday as inflation continues to run hot, but the summit may be drawing near.

The market almost unanimously expects the Monetary Policy Committee to opt for another 25 basis point hike on Thursday, with a majority of economists expecting a 7-2 split vote to take the Bank Rate from 4.25% to 4.5%. However, projections beyond that begin to diverge.

Read the full story here.

— Elliott Smith

Asian companies exposed to artificial intelligence have seen a 30% increase in value since November 2022 – when ChatGPT was unveiled.

However, HSBC has warned that investors should consider three significant risks before investing in AI stocks.

CNBC Pro subscribers can read more about the three risks here.

— Ganesh Rao

Goldman Sachs has named the three global companies expected to benefit from the German government's plans to spend nearly half a trillion euros on renewable energy infrastructure.

Goldman Sachs has estimated that this plan will create investment opportunities worth nearly €400 billion ($440 billion) in clean energy and power grid infrastructure.

CNBC Pro subscribers can read more about the three companies here.

— Ganesh Rao

European markets are expected to open higher Thursday.

The U.K.'s FTSE 100 index is expected to open 32 points higher at 8,365, Germany's DAX up 25 points at 18,510, France's CAC 7 points higher at 8,143 and Italy's FTSE MIB up 59 points at 33,908, according to data from IG.

Earnings are due from Ferrovial, Telefonica, EDP, Enel, Pirelli and Salvatore Ferragamo.

— Holly Ellyatt