European stocks edged higher on Thursday, with the STOXX 600 gaining around 0.2% and the STOXX 50 also up 0.2%, following losses of more than 1% in the previous session. Investors await the ECB’s monetary policy decision later in the day, with markets widely expecting a 25bps rate hike. The focus will be on ECB President Christine Lagarde’s guidance on the policy outlook, particularly whether policymakers signal that further rate increases could be needed as inflationary pressures intensify. Surging energy prices have complicated the outlook, with Brent crude trading above $101 a barrel. Banking stocks were among the stronger performers, with Societe Generale rising around 1.6%, Deutsche Bank gaining 1.3% and Banco Santander adding 0.7%. In contrast, SAP was among the biggest decliners, falling around 3%.