European stocks are seen opening higher on Thursday as worries about an early U.S. interest rate hike eased. The minutes from the Federal Reserve's March meeting published yesterday showed that several of the meeting's participants believed the bank's forecasts on short-term interest rates could be misleading. The minutes took a more dovish tone suggesting the U.S. central bank may not raise interest rates anytime soon.
Asian stocks opened higher but pared early gains on concerns over the Chinese economic outlook. China's exports and imports have fallen sharply in March, official data showed, increasing concerns about the state of the world's second-largest economy. Exports fell 6.6 percent year-over-year and imports tumbled an annual 11.3 percent, resulting in a merchandise trade surplus of $7.71 billion in the month.
The Australia dollar jumped to a new 2014 high on expectations of an increase in interest rates after official figures showed the country's unemployment rate fell unexpectedly in March. The Bank of Korea, meanwhile, raised its growth forecast for this year after leaving its key rate steady for the 11th consecutive meeting.
Closer home, the house price balance in the United Kingdom climbed to 57 percent in March, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors said - coming well above forecasts for 44 percent and up from the upwardly revised 47 percent in February. Home sales touched a six-year high in March, while prices moved higher in every region of the country - led by sharp gains in London and the South East.
Across the Atlantic, investors await reports on weekly jobless claims and import and export prices later in the day for further clues on the U.S. economy. On the earnings front, retailers Family Dollar, Rite Aid and Pier 1 Imports are among the companies due to report their quarterly results before the opening bell.
In domestic corporate news, luxury fashion retailer LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton said its revenues for the first quarter grew 4 percent, driven largely by strong growth in Japan and continued improvement in the U.S. and Asia.
German drug delivery devices maker Gerresheimer AG said its first-quarter net income edged up 0.8 percent to 10.3 million euros.
Fraport AG, the owner and operator of Germany's Frankfurt Airport, reported that Frankfurt Airport's passenger numbers in March grew 2 percent in the first quarter, despite the strikes.
French grocery retailer Carrefour Group reported first-quarter consolidated sales of 19.8 billion euros, up 1.6 percent year-over-year at constant exchange rates.
India's Piramal Enterprises said it would divest its entire equity stake, including nearly 45.425 million shares or about 11 percent, in Vodafone India to Prime Metals, an indirect unit of Telecom giant Vodafone Group Plc. for Rs.8,900 crore.
The European markets advanced on Wednesday as bargain hunters stepped in after two consecutive sessions of declines. Gains, however, were modest ahead of the minutes of the Fed's March meeting released later in the day and the Bank of England's rate decision on Thursday. The German DAX inched up 0.2 percent, France's CAC 40 gained 0.4 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 added 0.7 percent.
U.S. stocks rallied on Wednesday, led by technology stocks, after minutes from the Federal Reserve's latest policy meeting showed the central bank will not move quickly to raise interest rates. Alcoa jumped 3.8 percent after its earnings topped estimates. The Dow and the S&P 500 rose about 1.1 percent each, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq climbed 1.7 percent.
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May 01, 2026 15:54 ET Central banks dominated the economics news flow this week with almost all major ones announcing their latest policy decisions and many boosted expectations for a rate hike in June. In other news, several countries released the preliminary data for first quarter economic growth. In the U.S., comments by Fed Chair Jerome Powell were also in focus as his term ends this month.