By Ovunc Kutlu
ISTANBUL (AA) - European stocks closed Thursday in negative territory as a majority of exchanges shed more than 1%.
The STOXX Europe 600, which includes around 90% of the market capitalization of the European markets in 17 countries, fell 5.99 points, or 1.3%, to finish at 454.67.
The UK's FTSE 100 was off 53 points, or 0.69%, to end the session at almost 7,678. The Bank of England earlier kept its policy rate unchanged at the 15-year high of 5.25%, ending 14 consecutive rate hikes going back to December 2021 to tame inflation.
Germany's DAX trimmed 209 points, or 1.33%, to 15,571. France's CAC 40 lost 116 points, or 1.59%, to close at 7,213.
Italy's FTSE MIB was the worst performer of the day, plummeting 520 points, or 1.78%, to end at 28,708.
Spain's IBEX 35, meanwhile, fell 96 points, or 1%, to finish the session at 9,548.