Europe stocks close higher but U.K.'s FTSE 100 falls amid U.S. trade deal, rate cut

European stocks closed broadly higher Thursday, despite the U.K.'s FTSE 100 erasing gains as the U.K. and U.S. confirmed a trade agreement and the Bank of England cut interest rates.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 closed 0.4% higher, trimming earlier gains, with Germany's DAX up 1%. The risk-sensitive technology sector rose 1.64% amid optimism in U.S. markets over trade talk progress.

However, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 bucked the trend to tumble 0.32% after snapping its record winning streak on Wednesday. Sterling was slightly higher against the euro and U.S. dollar.  

As the U.K. announced a strengthening of its trading relationship with Washington, the EU said it was preparing to launch a WTO complaint against the United States over the Trump administration's tariffs regime.

The bloc also said it was launching a public consultation on a list of U.S. imports worth 95 billion euros ($107.5 billion) that could be subject to new import duties as a part of EU retaliatory measures.

In London, the Bank of England on Thursday cut its key interest rate by 25 basis points, bringing it down to 4.25%. The central bank's Monetary Policy Committee voted by a 5 to 4 majority to reduce rates by 25 basis points. Two of its members voted to cut rates by 50 basis points, while another two wanted to hold rates steady.

It came after Sweden's Riksbank held its key interest rate steady, citing uncertainty in the global economy as a direct result of U.S. President Donald Trump's trade policies.