| LONDON - Most European stock markets ended lower Thursday, as the European Central Bank and the Bank of England kept interest rates on hold as they flag up inflation concerns in a period of record oil prices. The pan-European Dow Jones Stoxx 600 index closed a fraction of a percentage point lower to 329.28, with banks across Europe lower as the major central banks held rates unchanged. In London, shares of U.K. mortgage lender HBOS fell 1.2% and Barclays declined 2.5%, lower after the Bank of England kept rates on hold at 5%, a move that generated mild disappointment for investors hoping for a rate cut to shore up an ailing housing market. Likewise, the European Central Bank held its key interest rate steady as worries about euro-zone inflation outweighed concerns over an economy whose growth appears to be stalling. Jean-Claude Trichet, the ECB's president, emphasized in press conference after the rate decision that inflation risks rem |
