Europe open: Shares shrug off tariff woes, eyes on BoE
By Frank Prenesti
Date: Thursday 07 Aug 2025
(Sharecast News) - European shares made a strong start on Thursday as investors largely ignored the start of higher US tariffs on a large number of its trading partners and eyed a rate decision from the Bank of England.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index rose 0.54% as of 0936 BST with most major regional bourses trading in the green. Britain's FTSE 100 was down 0.28%.
"The Bank of England is jostling with US tariffs to steal the limelight on Thursday. US tariff rates came into force at midnight, and the average US tariff rate is now over 15%, the highest level for a century. This is the backdrop to today's Bank of England meeting, where the market is convinced that the BOE will cut rates to the lowest level in two years," said XTB research director Kathleen Brooks.
The BoE is expected to announce a quarter-point interest rate cut at its meeting later in the day.
In equities news, Maersk gained as the shipping group lifted its full-year earnings outlook on global demand for ocean container freight.
Rheinmetall fell sharply after the German weapons maker missed second-quarter sales expectations partially due to a delay in domestic defence contracts being awarded.
Reporting by Frank Prenesti for Sharecast.com
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