European stocks rallied to a three-year high on Wednesday, led by strength in British banks such as Barclays on growing hopes of a cut in interest rates, which also boosted retailers. German software group SAP rose 3.3 percent to 144 euros and topped the list of gainers after breaking through a key technical resistance level at 140 euros. By 1110 GMT, the pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index was 0.3 percent stronger at 1,148.5 points --its best level since June 2002, and up about 10 percent this year, according to Reuters. Indexes rallied after minutes from a Bank of England meeting showed that two Monetary Policy Committee members had voted to cut rates, bucking the majority vote to leave them unchanged. In addition, pressure on the European Central Bank to lower interest rates and boost the region's faltering growth increased after Sweden's central bank cut rates on Tuesday. The ECB has so far resisted moves to reduce rates, which are already at historic lows. "There seems to be more pressure on the ECB after the Riksbank cut yesterday was bigger than people thought, and with European growth prospects reined back, it's one reason equities are rising," said Kevin Lilley, a fund manager at Royal London Asset Management. --More 1753 Local Time 1453 GMT
