European Shares Seen Up Ahead Of ECB Meeting

European stocks are seen opening higher on Thursday after Wall Street clawed back from a three-week long sell-off overnight amid easing inflation and rate hike concerns.

Asian markets followed Wall Street higher, though Chinese and Hong Kong stocks fell after China’s Chengdu city extended a lockdown in most of its districts to stem further transmission of Covid-19 cases.

The dollar resumed its upward march and held near a record high, denting bullion’s safe-haven appeal.

Oil prices rose nearly $1 a barrel in Asian trading after dropping through key technical support levels in the U.S. trading session.

The rebound came after Russian President Vladimir Putin threatened to stop supplying gas and oil if price caps are imposed on Russia’s energy resources.

The ECB rate-decision is due later in the day, with the central bank widely expected to raise rates by 75 basis points to fight runway inflation.

Remarks by Fed Chair Jerome Powell along with a report on U.S. weekly jobless claims will also attract attention as the day progresses.

U.S. stocks rose sharply overnight, as oil prices slumped and Treasury yields pulled back, helping cool investor concerns about inflation and interest-rate hikes.

Investors also reacted to the Fed’s Beige Book report showing weak growth outlook and Fed Vice Chair Lael Brainard’s comments on bringing inflation down without going too far.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite rallied 2.1 percent to snap a seven-day losing streak, while the Dow climbed 1.4 percent and the S&P 500 added 1.8 percent.

European stocks ended mixed on Wednesday as weak economic data from China and the euro area coupled with the ongoing energy crisis exacerbated fears of a recession.

The pan European Stoxx 600 dropped 0.6 percent. The German DAX rose 0.4 percent and France’s CAC 40 finished marginally higher while the U.K.’s FTSE 100 shed 0.9 percent.

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