Euro, stocks, bonds steady after ECB keeps rates at 0.5 pct

LONDON Oct 8 (Reuters) - The euro, euro zone government bonds and stocks were little changed on Thursday by the European Central Bank's widely expected decision to leave key interest rates on hold at 1 percent.

Attention now turns to ECB President Jean-Claude Trichet's press conference at 1230 GMT, where he will likely be asked questions on the strength of the economic recovery, the bank's 'exit strategy' and the euro's recent strength.

The euro held at $1.4755 EUR=, up 0.5 percent on the day and unchanged from just before the ECB decision.

European shares were little, with the FTSEurofirst 300 .FTEU3 index of top European shares up 1 percent at 998.59 points at 1148 GMT.

Euro zone government bonds barely moved also, with Bund futures FGBLc1 holding at 122.77, down 2 ticks on the day. Interest rate sensitive euribor futures <0#FEI:> also barely flinched with the December contract FEIZ9 staying at 99.195, down 1.5 ticks on the day.

Cash yields also held their ground. The 10-year Bund yield EU10YT=RR was at 3.131 percent, up 1.5 basis points on the day while the two-year Schatz yield EU2YT=RR was at 1.265 percent, up 2.6 bps.