European stocks ended relatively mixed Thursday, as investors digested corporate earnings and reacted to a sharp fall in sterling. The pan-European Stoxx 600 came off its session lows to close provisionally down 0.46 percent, with most sectors closing in the red. Looking to bourses, France's CAC 40 slipped 0.07 percent by the close, while Germany's DAX fell 0.18 percent. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 pushed higher however, closing up 0.9 percent after the Bank of England made a change to its monetary policy strategy.

The U.K. central bank (BOE) raised interest rates for the first time in more than a decade, but signaled only gradual easing in the future. This "dovish" hike sent sterling lower and caused a rally in U.K. stocks with some major corporates earning most of their revenues in the U.S. dollar. At the market close, sterling was trading sharply down, last standing against the dollar at $1.306. Nonetheless, some London-listed banks, RBS and Lloyds, fell into the red following the decision.

Playtech sinks 22%; Credit Suisse beats forecasts

Aside from the big economic news coming out of the U.K., earnings continues to shake up sentiment in Europe on Thursday. British kitchen supplier Howden Joinery was crowned Europe's best performer, closing up over 10 percent, after posting a 8.2 percent increase in total U.K. depots revenue in its last quarter. Credit Suisse shares meantime rose 4.5 percent after posting a near six-fold year-on-year rise in third-quarter net profit on Thursday, beating analyst expectations amid an ongoing restructuring plan. On the other end of the spectrum, Randgold dropped 7.2 percent after a decline in production hit its third-quarter profits. Travel and leisure stocks were the worst performers in trade, closing 1.4 percent down, with Playtech slipping to the bottom of both the sector and STOXX 600. The online poker firm sank over 22 percent by the close, after saying that its full-year performance will miss market expectations. Health care slipped 1 percent as a sector following disappointing earnings news. Sanofi dropped 1.23 percent after saying that sales at its diabetes arm fell. Its third-quarter results were also slightly lower than expectations but the company confirmed its 2017 outlook.

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