European Shares Seen Broadly Higher; BOE Meeting Eyed

(RTTNews) - European stocks are seen opening broadly higher on Thursday after the U.S. Federal Reserve hinted at a September rate cut and Facebook parent Meta gave Platforms reported good results for the June quarter and gave an upbeat outlook for Q3, driven by robust digital ad spending on Facebook and Instagram.

Apple and Amazon.com will report their earnings later in the day.

On the data front, U.S. reports on weekly jobless claims, labor productivity and costs, manufacturing activity and construction spending may attract investor attention ahead of the all-important non-farm payrolls data for July due Friday.

Meanwhile, markets are split on whether the Bank of England will deliver its first rate cut since the pandemic later in the day following some recent upside surprises in services inflation.

U.K. Nationwide house price data, Eurozone unemployment figures and final factory PMI data from the euro area may also influence trading sentiment as the session progresses.

Asian stocks traded mixed, with Chinese and Hong Kong markets fluctuating after a private survey showed China's manufacturing sector unexpectedly shrank in July, highlighting the need for stronger stimulus.

Japan's Nikkei index was down nearly 3 percent as the yen extended its blockbuster rally to reach a 4-1/2-month high, clouding the outlook for the country's exporters.

The dollar nursed losses while gold slipped slightly after hitting a two-week high. Oil extended gains after surging about 4 percent in the previous session on supply disruption fears due to the killing of a Hamas leader in Iran.

U.S. stocks rallied overnight as investors cheered Fed Chair Jerome Powell's dovish remarks and upbeat earnings from the likes of AMD, Starbucks and DuPont.

After keeping the key interest rate unchanged at a 23-year high, Powell said that recent progress on inflation and cooling in the labor market could put the September rate cut on the table.

The heavy Nasdaq Composite surged 2.6 percent, helped by a revival in tech stocks led by Meta and Nvidia.

The S&P 500 rallied 1.6 percent to post its best daily performance since February and the Dow edged up 0.2 percent.

European stocks extended gains for a second straight session on Wednesday as strong corporate earnings helped offset data showing an unexpected rise in Eurozone inflation in July.

The pan European STOXX 600 advanced 0.8 percent. The German DAX rose half a percent, France's CAC 40 added 0.8 percent and the U.K.'s FTST 100 climbed 1.1 percent.