European Shares Seen Higher At Open

(RTTNews) - European stocks may open a tad higher on Thursday as investors assess the U.S.-Vietnam deal and look ahead to a decisive round of trade talks in Washington.

EU trade commissioner Maros Sefcovic will meet with U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer today for a potentially decisive round of talks.

It will be the last chance to clinch an initial political agreement before a July 8 deadline or face 50 percent "reciprocal" tariffs.

Elsewhere, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has backed Rachel Reeves to remain chancellor for "many years to come" after she became tearful during an extraordinary PMQs.

Asian markets were mostly lower after a private survey showed China's services sector grew less than expected in June.

Investors also assessed the tariff implications of the U.S.-Vietnam deal announced on Wednesday.

The terms of the deal call for Vietnam to pay a 20 percent tariff on goods sent to the U.S. and a 40 percent tariff on any transshipping.

The South-Asian country will impose 0 percent tariff on U.S. goods, although details were limited. Analysts say the deal risks provoking retaliatory steps from China.

The U.S. dollar held steady as House leaders scrambled to secure GOP votes to pass President Trump's massive tax and immigration bill ahead of a July 4 deadline.

Gold traded weak above $3,350 per ounce as investors await key payrolls data, which could provide clues on how soon the Federal Reserve may cut interest rates.

Economists expect U.S. employment to increase by 110,000 jobs in June after an increase of 139,000 jobs in May. The unemployment rate is expected to tick up to 4.3 percent from 4.2 percent.

Trading later in the day may also be driven by reaction to the release of U.S. reports on weekly jobless claims, service sector activity and the U.S. trade deficit.

U.S. stocks ended mostly higher overnight as President Trump's announcement of a trade deal between the U.S. and Vietnam helped offset data that showed U.S. private payrolls fell unexpectedly in June and job gains in the prior month were smaller than initially thought.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite and the S&P 500 gained 0.9 percent and half a percent, respectively to close at record highs while the narrower Dow finished marginally lower.

European stocks also closed broadly higher on Wednesday amid a flurry of deals. The pan European STOXX 600 gained 0.2 percent.

The German DAX rose half a percent and France's CAC 40 climbed 1 percent while the U.K.'s FTSE 100 slid 0.1 percent as bond yields rose due to political uncertainty after Chancellor Rachel Reeves failed to get support from Prime Minister Keir Starmer.