European shares lower after comments from Fed’s Powell; VW up 2.5%

Volkswagen reported first-quarter earnings in line with expectations on Thursday, as the automaker attempts to increase the pace of its transformation. Shares rose 2.5% in early deals.

BNP Paribas reported a net income of 1.92 billion euros ($2.15 billion) for the first quarter, a jump of 22% from the same period the year before. Shares were up 1%.

ING, the largest Dutch financial group, reported a slight drop in first-quarter underlying net profit of 1.12 billion euros ($1.26 billion), narrowly missing analyst expectations of 1.15 billion euros in a Reuters poll. Shares were down 1.5% on Thursday morning.

Aside from earnings, investors were digesting news from the Federal Reserve. Chairman Jerome Powell said in a news conference Wednesday that recently low inflationary pressures may only be “transitory,” dashing speculation the central bank was at least entertaining the idea of a rate cut because of tame inflation.

Meanwhile, investors in the U.K. will monitor a rate decision from the Bank of England on Thursday. There are also local elections being held in the country.