New York — Rosy economic data lifted European stock markets on Thursday even as broader world equity markets dipped, while sterling hit a nine-month low against the euro after the Bank of England’s (BoE) policymakers kept interest rates unchanged. Britain’s FTSE index, up 0.9%, led the charge in overseas markets and sterling skidded to its lowest since November 2 at 90.48 pence per euro after the British central bank kept rates at a record low and cut its forecasts for growth and wages due to Brexit uncertainty. The weaker growth outlook bolstered expectations the BoE will be less likely to raise interest rates in the near future. The FTSE index’s advance put it on track for its biggest daily percentage gain since July 12. "The combination of what is going on politically in the UK plus what the central banking position is, it’s not surprising," said Rui De Figueiredo, chief investment officer and co-head of the Solutions and Multi-Asset Group at Morgan Stanley Investment Management ...
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