London — The euro climbed and stocks inched higher on Thursday, as markets waited to hear just how close the European Central Bank (ECB) was to scaling back its more than €2-trillion stimulus programme. The was relief of sorts too after Donald Trump and US Congress leaders struck a surprise deal to push a showdown on the country’s debt limit back to December, and that there had been no further escalation in the North Korea crisis. A fifth day of gains in vehicle stocks helped German shares outperform a sluggish open for European equities with banks under pressure before the much-awaited ECB meeting. ECB President Mario Draghi is expected to lay the groundwork to wind back its asset purchase programme, though few investors expect to see a clear framework just yet. The euro’s sharp rise this year has started to cause some discomfort in part of the eurozone. It drifted higher against a broad swathe of currencies in early trading. A fourth day of gains took it back above $1.1950 against...
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