# French Shares Lead European Gains Ahead of ECB Policy Decision By Enna Lee Canonical URL: https://www.tokenpost.com/news/investing/43351 Published: 2026-10-29T08:33:58.000Z Updated: 2026-10-29T08:33:58.000Z Section: Investing > The CAC gained 0.72%, while London’s UKX and Germany’s DAX recorded smaller advances. The ECB decision is scheduled for 9:15 a.m. ET. European stock indexes rose in early trading Thursday, with France’s CAC leading the three benchmarks ahead of the European Central Bank’s (ECB) policy decision later in the day. The CAC climbed 0.72%. London’s UKX index advanced 0.28%, and Germany’s DAX rose 0.11%. The ECB is scheduled to announce its decision at 9:15 a.m. ET (13:15 UTC) Thursday. The central bank’s news conference is set for 9:45 a.m. ET (13:45 UTC). October’s reading for Sweden’s household confidence measure dropped to 94.3. Swedish retail sales climbed 5.5% from a year earlier in September, while the economy expanded 0.4% month over month. The [STOXX Europe 600’s Oct. 26 advance]() was 0.3%, in a session before that week’s central bank announcements and economic data. ## Links in this article - [STOXX Europe 600’s Oct. 26 advance](https://www.tokenpost.com/news/investing/40888)