(Reuters) - European shares edged higher on Thursday, helped by a rise in banks, after the U.S. Federal Reserve cut interest rates but set a higher bar for further reductions.
European banks (SX7P) rose 1.1%, the most among the major sectors.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index (STOXX) rose 0.2% with lender-heavy Milan (FTMIB) and Madrid (IBEX) outperforming.
The FTSE 100 index (FTSE) was 0.1% lower ahead of a Bank of England monetary policy statement at 1100 GMT, where it is expected to stand pat on rates.
Wartsila (HE:WRT1V) was the worst performer on the STOXX 600 on an HSBC price target cut after the Finnish engineering group warned on 2019 profit on Wednesday.
European steel stocks ArcelorMittal (AS:MT), Salzgitter (DE:SZGG), Voestalpine (VI:VOES), SSAB (ST:SSABa), Outokumpu (HE:OUT1V) and Thyssenkrupp (DE:TKAG) declined after United States Steel's (N:X) gloomy current-quarter earnings forecast.