European Shares Seen Broadly Higher At Open

(RTTNews) - European stocks are seen opening mostly higher on Thursday after the U.S. Federal Reserve delivered pretty much what the market had expected in the first interest-rate decision of 2026.

The U.S. central bank kept interest rates on hold in a split decision and signaled little urgency to resume cuts amid still-elevated inflation alongside solid economic growth.

In his closely monitored press conference, Fed Chair Jerome Powell emphasized keeping politics away from Fed decisions, as inflation remains above target levels.

Traders will also react to earnings from several big-name tech companies announced after the close of U.S. trading Wednesday.

Tesla earnings and sales fell less than expected in Q4. Meta earnings topped Q4 views, but the company guided up on capital expenditures.

Microsoft posted slower cloud-computing growth and said spending surged to a record high in the last three months of 2025, prompting renewed doubts about the strength of the AI-driven rally.

Meanwhile, with options traders turning overwhelmingly negative towards the dollar, markets are concerned about the impact it will place on the European Central Bank.

On Wednesday, ECB officials flagged growing concerns over the euro's ascent to its strongest level since 2021, warning that it could drag inflation down and guide monetary policy "in the months ahead."

On the geopolitical front, U.S.-Iran tensions escalated as U.S. President Trump revived a threat that the United States is ready to launch a military attack against Iran.

Iran said it remains open to dialogue "based on mutual respect" but warned it will respond "like never before" if provoked.

Asian markets were mixed, recovering some ground after a sluggish start. Gold surged more than 2 percent to another record high above $5,500 an ounce as the dollar looked vulnerable despite verbal support from both U.S. and European officials.

In an interview with U.S. broadcaster CNBC, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the U.S. has a strong dollar policy and that means setting the right fundamentals.

Oil prices extended their recent rally, rising more than 1 percent in Asian trade after Trump warned Iran to make a nuclear deal with the U.S. or face military strikes far worse than the attack he ordered last June.

Overnight, U.S. stocks ended narrowly mixed. While the S&P 500 finished marginally lower, the Dow closed flat with a positive bias and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite added 0.2 percent.

European stocks ended firmly in the red on Wednesday as the Fed decision and a slew of tech sector results loomed.

The pan European Stoxx 600 fell 0.8 percent. The German DAX dipped 0.3 percent, France's CAC 40 tumbled 1.1 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 shed half a percent.