European Markets Seen Gaining On Thursday

(RTTNews) - Stock markets in Europe are expected to open higher on Thursday as markets brace for another Fed rate cut before the end of the year. Tech-led gains in Wall Street on Wednesday and momentum in Asian markets on Thursday are expected to boost market sentiment.

Wall Street had closed on a positive note on Wednesday amidst strong hopes of another rate cut from the Federal Reserve in December. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.67 percent to finish trading at 47,427.12. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite gained 0.82 percent to close trading at 23,214.69.

European markets had closed on a strongly positive note on Wednesday as markets eyed a potential peace deal in Ukraine and expectations of further monetary easing by the Federal Reserve. The pan-European Stoxx-50 surged 1.5 percent followed by Germany's DAX that rallied 1.1 percent. France's CAC 40 and U.K.'s FTSE 100, both added close to 0.9 percent. Switzerland's SMI also gained 0.5 percent in Wednesday's trading.

Current indications from the European stock futures indicate a positive sentiment. The DAX Futures (Dec) is trading 0.2 percent higher. The pan-European Stoxx 50 Futures (Dec) is trading 0.05 percent higher. The CAC 40 Futures (Dec) stood 0.88 percent above the flatline on Wednesday. The SMI Futures (Dec) also moved 0.32 percent higher. The FTSE 100 Futures (Dec) is however trading 0.09 percent lower.

American stock futures are trading in mildly positive territory. The US 30 (DJIA) is trading 0.13 percent higher, whereas the US500 (S&P 500) is trading 0.07 percent above the flatline.

Asian stock markets are trading on a mostly positive note amidst Fed rate cut expectations as well as a global tech momentum. Japan's Nikkei 225 has added 1.3 percent. China's Shanghai Composite has added 0.71 percent whereas Hong Kong's Hang Seng has added 0.66 percent. South Korea's KOSPI has rallied 0.64 percent. India's Nifty 50 has witnessed an increase of 0.32 percent. Australia's S&P ASX 200 added 0.13 percent. DJ New Zealand declined 0.25 percent.

The Dollar Index, a measure of the U.S. dollar's strength relative to six currencies, is trading at 99.44, declining from 99.60 at the previous close as markets priced in rate cut hopes. The EUR/USD pair has in the meanwhile edged up 0.03 percent to 1.1601 and the GBP/USD pair has gained 0.14 percent to trade at 1.3256. The USD/CHF pair is trading 0.25 percent lower at 0.8038. The EUR/GBP pair is trading 0.11 percent lower at 0.8751.

Gold prices have declined 0.41 percent after strong gains over the past few days. Gold Futures for February settlement are trading at $4,185.15, versus the previous close of $4,202.30.

Both the crude oil benchmarks are trading well below the flatline amidst expectations surrounding a peace deal in Ukraine. Brent Crude Futures for February settlement is trading at $62.21 versus $62.54 at close on Wednesday. WTI Crude Futures for January settlement is currently at $58.36 versus $58.65 at the previous close.

Major releases due from the region on Thursday include GfK Consumer Confidence for December from Germany, Economic Sentiment for November from the Euro Area. The minutes of the European Central Bank's monetary policy meeting are due on Thursday morning.

Major updates to earnings due from the region include Trigano, Pennon, CPI Europe and Remy Cointreau.