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July 26 (Reuters) - European shares rose slightly on Friday,
a day after they dropped on a less-dovish-than-expected European
Central Bank statement, buoyed by a rally in mobile operator
Vodafone and media firm Vivendi .
ECB President Mario Draghi on Thursday all but pledged to
ease policy further and even hinted at a reinterpretation of the
ECB's inflation target, but this disappointed some investors who
had hoped for an immediate easing of interest rates.
The pan-European stock benchmark index .STOXX rose 0.1% by
0711 GMT.
The ECB disappointment stems from strongly dovish notes
major central banks had struck last month that spurred a rally
in stocks as investors hoped for policy easing as soon as the
next meeting. Focus now shifts to the U.S. Federal Reserve,
which is expected to cut rates by at least a quarter basis point
next week.
Shares of Vivendi VIV.PA rose 4% after stellar first-half
results at its Universal Music Group raised the stakes for the
sale of the French media giant's most-prized asset. Vodafone VOD.L jumped 7.3% on plans to move its mobile
mast operations in 10 European markets into a new company that
it potentially could list. The materials sector fell the most, with Anglo American
AAL.L dropping more than 4% after the mining company's biggest
shareholder billionaire Anil Agarwal said he was divesting the
nearly 20% stake he had been holding since 2017.