European stocks are waiting for ECB and Bank of England announcements

European stocks were little changed, after the Stoxx Europe 600 Index yesterday dropped to a six-week low, as investors awaited policy announcements from the European Central Bank and Bank of England.

RSA Insurance Group Plc advanced 1.8 percent as Morgan Stanley upgraded its rating of the shares. Vinci SA climbed after a report that a consortium including the French builder won a 1.3 billion pound ($2 billion) contract in Qatar. Barclays Plc lost 2 percent as an investor sold a stake in the lender.

The markets in Paris, Amsterdam, Brussels and Lisbon opened an hour later than usual as NYSE Euronext, the operator of the exchanges, faced a technical problems. Trading in Stockholm is closed for Sweden’s National Day holiday.

The Stoxx 600 added 0.2 percent to 295.56. The gauge has rallied 5.7 percent so far this year as central banks continued their stimulus measures.

“You need the global economy to pick up, you need confidence to pick up,” experts Signia Wealth Ltd. said. “There’s a lot of excess capacity in the European economy and there’s a lot of potential. The ECB just has to do its job in making sure the liquidity is there for that potential to be realized.”