European stocks close: stocks closed mixed on comments by the ECB President Mario Draghi

Stock indices closed mixed after the release of the European Central Bank's (ECB) interest rate decision. The interest rate remained unchanged at 0.00%. This decision was widely expected by analysts.

The ECB European Central Bank (ECB) President Mario Draghi said at a press conference on Thursday that Eurozone's economy was expected to continue to recover. He noted that inflation in the Eurozone could be negative in the coming months before rising in the second half of 2016. Draghi pointed out that the ECB did not discuss helicopter money.

The Office for National Statistics released its retail sales data for the U.K. on Thursday. Retail sales in the U.K. fell 1.3% in March, missing expectations for a 0.1% drop, after a 0.5% decline in February. February's figure was revised down from a 0.4% decrease.

The decline was driven by a weak demand in all categories. Food sales were down 1.9% in March, while non-food store sales decreased 1.5%.

On a yearly basis, retail sales in the U.K. climbed 2.7% in March, missing forecasts of a 4.4% increase, after a 3.6% rise in February. February's figure was revised down from a 3.8% gain.

The ONS also released public sector net borrowing for the U.K. Public sector net borrowing excluding public sector banks declined to £74.0 billion in the fiscal year 2015/16 ending March 2016 from £91.7 billion in the previous fiscal year. It is equivalent to 3.9% of GDP.

The government forecasted £72.0 billion for the fiscal year 2015/16.

The debt-to-gross domestic product ratio rose to 83.5% in the fiscal year 2015/16 from 83.3% in the previous fiscal year.

Public sector net borrowing excluding public sector banks declined to £4.6 billion in March from £7.4 billion in March a year ago.

Indexes on the close:

Name Price Change Change %

FTSE 100 6,381.44 -28.82 -0.45 %

DAX 10,435.73 +14.44 +0.14 %

CAC 40 4,582.83 -9.09 -0.20 %