Main European stock indices are rising during trading on Thursday. The Stoxx Europe 600 composite index of the largest companies in the region rose 0.58% to 442.60 points. German DAX is up 0.34%, British FTSE 100 is up 0.15%, French CAC 40 is up 0.01%, Italian FTSE MIB is up 0.47% and Spanish IBEX 35 is up 0.45%.

What affected the best European stock indices?

During a speech at the Brookings Institution on Wednesday, Powell reiterated that the Fed could slow the rise in the prime rate as early as December. “The time to moderate the pace of rate hikes may come as early as the next meeting,” Powell said. 

The Fed chair, meanwhile, tried to balance those words with “hawkish” signals. Market Watch notes. He said that the U.S. Central Bank will have to raise the rate higher than could be expected a few months ago. Moreover, Powell made it clear that the issue of rate cuts is irrelevant at the moment. By the way, his words influenced the growth of the current stock price of the NASDAQ-100. 

Another Fed official, Board of Governors member Lisa Cook said she believes the regulator needs to keep raising rates as inflation is still too high. “We’ve started to get more favorable inflation data. But I would be cautious about drawing big conclusions on just one month’s worth of data,” Cook said during a speech at the Detroit Economic Club.

But this positive trend does not apply to Meta financial stock. Facebook’s parent company said its total expenses could rise 16 percent next year, and expects operating losses at Reality Labs, the division responsible for bringing Metaverse to life, to “increase significantly” next year. Reality Labs’ July-September losses rose to a whopping $3.67 billion from $2.63 billion a year earlier. Revenue almost halved. 

But this positive trend does not apply to Meta financial stock. Facebook’s parent company said its total expenses could rise 16 percent next year, and expects operating losses at Reality Labs, the division responsible for bringing Metaverse to life, to “increase significantly” next year. Reality Labs’ July-September losses rose to a whopping $3.67 billion from $2.63 billion a year earlier. Revenue almost halved. 

Earlier, we reported on how European stock indexes were falling following Asian stock markets.