Miners, banks lead European markets higher as Fed calms inflation woes

European shares rose on Thursday, led by sectors deemed to benefit from a broader economic recovery as the U.S. Federal Reserve signalled it would maintain a loose monetary policy, while Standard Chartered (LON:STAN) fell as its annual profit slumped.

The British lender lost 2.8% even as it restored its dividend and reaffirmed its long-term profit goals in a show of confidence about its ability to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.

The wider European banking index, however, added 1.1%, benefiting from higher bond yields, which have risen on bets of a pickup in inflation with an improvement in the global economy.

The pan-European STOXX 600 index was up 0.5% by 0804 GMT, with mining and energy stocks also tracking gains in commodity prices. [MET/L] [O/R]

All eyes later in the day will be on February consumer confidence data from the euro zone.

In a slew of corporate earnings reports, Anheuser-Busch InBev, the world’s largest brewer, tumbled 4.4% even as it reported a higher-than-expected core quarterly profit.