Muscat: European stocks were flat on Thursday as markets awaited the European Central Bank's decision on monetary policy. The pan-European STOXX 600 index saw no change and stood at 618.25 points, near the record level it reached on Wednesday.

According to Qatar News Agency, earnings from the banking and resources sectors dominated European market performance on Thursday. Shares of BNP Paribas jumped 4.1 percent after the euro zone's largest bank by assets reported fourth-quarter profits that beat expectations. In contrast, shares of the banking group BBVA fell about 4 percent, weighing on Spain's IBEX index, despite the bank announcing an increase in its fourth-quarter net profit.

Shares of Shell also declined by 1.6 percent after the British oil major's fourth-quarter earnings came in below market expectations. Meanwhile, the European technology index offset broader declines, rising about 2 percent as it continued to recover from the sell-off seen earlier in the week.