Grapevine

LONDON — European stocks rallied at the open Thursday as investors in the region await the latest monetary policy decision from the European Central Bank.

European markets

The ECB's key interest rate — which helps to price all sorts of loans and mortgages across the bloc — is currently at 3.75% after years of aggressive hikes. The ECB's meeting comes just days ahead of the U.S. Federal Reserve's Sept. 17-18 meeting, at which it's expected to begin its own rate-cutting cycle.