European Stocks Lifted by U.S. Rates Hope

        European shares climbed to a fresh 15-year high on Thursday after U.S. Federal Reserve minutes showed officials were divided about when to raise interest rates.
        The Stoxx Europe 600 index was 0.4% higher in early trade at 406.10, closing in on its all-time intraday high of 407.56 set in March 2000.
        The gains came after U.S. markets shrugged off news that several Fed officials think it would be appropriate to raise rates in June, with the S&P 500 climbing 0.3% on Wednesday. The prospect of higher rates is generally seen as bad for stocks around the world, which have benefited from ultra loose monetary policy in the U.S.
        But Fed funds futures, used by investors and traders to place bets on central bank policy, showed Wednesday that investors see just a 6% chance of a June hike, only slightly higher than before the minutes.
        "Market complacency that the hike will take place after June should have been shaken a little, although September is our base case," said Paul Donovan, an economist at UBS.
        Thursday's gains in Europe cap a huge stock rally so far in 2015 as the eurozone economy showed signs of improvement and the European Central Bank launched its bond-buying stimulus program. The Stoxx Europe 600 is up nearly 19% this year.
        More recently, a flurry of merger activity has further boosted markets.
        In currency markets, the prospect of a June rate hike gave the dollar a boost. The euro was 0.3% lower against the buck at $1.0748 on Thursday.
        The dollar's rally has stalled in recent weeks as U.S. data disappointed, with the euro bouncing back from a 12-year low of under $1.05 last month.
        The buck has room to rise further given the Fed has indicated a June rate increase is still a possibility, said currency strategists at BNP Paribas.
        In commodities markets, Brent crude climbed 1.4% to $57.50 a barrel, rebounding from Wednesday's heavy losses. Gold was down 0.6% at $1,196.10 an ounce.
        Write to Tommy Stubbington at tommy.stubbington@wsj.com
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        (END) Dow Jones Newswires

        April 09, 2015 04:20 ET (08:20 GMT)

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