The European markets are poised for a weak open on Thursday amid some disappointing earnings news, erasing the previous session's gains, after markets in the Asia/Pacific traded mixed.
The DAX futures are losing 6 points and the CAC 40 futures as well as the FTSE 100 futures are slipping 1.5 points each. The Swiss Market Index futures are dropping 5 points. The Euro Stoxx 50 futures are sliding 2 points.
The markets closed higher on Wednesday, as weak GDP data led to optimism that the European Central Bank may be forced to enact further stimulus measures. Traders also welcomed the news that the Bank of England raised its economic growth forecast.
The Euro Stoxx 50 index of eurozone bluechip stocks increased by 0.50 percent, while the Stoxx Europe 50 index, which includes some major U.K. companies, added 0.80 percent.
The German DAX climbed 0.3 percent and the French CAC 40 advanced 0.4 percent. The UK's FTSE 100 rose 0.1 percent and Switzerland's SMI gained 1.5 percent.
On the corporate front, Zurich Insurance Group reported a lower profit for the first quarter, but added that it remains on track to deliver its 2013 targets.
Compagnie Financiere Richemont, the Swiss luxury goods group known as Richemont, Thursday said annual profit climbed 30 percent from last year, amid a 14 percent growth in sales. The company's chairman Johann Rupert plans to take a twelve-month sabbatical after the 25th annual general meeting in September.
Vedanta Resources reported annual pretax profit of $1.71 billion compared to $1.75 billion last year. Profit attributable to equity holders of the parent was $157.4 million or 56.7 cents per share, compared to $59.8 million or 21.6 cents per share last year.
Aviva said pro forma value of new business for the first quarter rose 18 percent to 191 million pounds from last year's 162 million pounds.
Antofagasta reported first-quarter Group EBITDA of $781.7 million, compared to $1.11 billion last year. The group said the decline mainly reflected the decrease in revenues together with an increase in operating costs.
In Asia/Pacific, markets were mixed. Australia's All Ordinaries slid 0.6 percent and Japan's Nikkei 225 fell 0.4 percent. On the other hand, China's Shanghai Composite Index climbed 0.9 percent and Hong Kong's Hang Seng gained 0.1 percent.
The U.S. futures indicate a mixed open on Wall Street, ahead of a slew of economic data, including reports on weekly jobless claims, housing starts, and Philadelphia-area manufacturing activity.
In the previous session, stocks saw some volatility over the course of the trading day before ending the session mostly higher. The Dow rose 0.4 percent, the Nasdaq advanced 0.3 percent and the S&P 500 gained 0.5 percent.
Among commodities, crude for June delivery is falling $0.44 to $93.86 per barrel and June gold is losing $4.3 to $1391.9 a troy ounce.
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Market Analysis
June 05, 2026 16:18 ET A busy week for economic news flow saw a slew of reports being released that reflected the trends in the U.S. labor market. In Europe, economic growth and inflation data gained attention as the European Central Bank and Bank of England head for policy session later in the month. In Asia, the monetary policy session of the Indian central bank was in focus as the country, a major oil importer, reels under the pressures of a weaker rupee and rising inflation.