European stocks are likely to open lower on Thursday, as minutes of the U.S. Federal Reserve's most recent policy meeting offered little insight into when interest rates could rise.
U.S. stocks pulled back slightly from their record highs overnight, as mixed economic data on housing starts and building permits and indications that Fed policymakers were concerned about low inflation and a stronger U.S. dollar prompted some investors to take profits following recent strength in the markets.
While the Fed acknowledged a somewhat weaker economic outlook and increased downside risks in Europe, China, and Japan, many participants saw the effects on the domestic economy as likely to be quite limited. The minutes also showed that there was a consensus among officials to end the third round of asset purchase program, known as quantitative easing, at the October 28-29 meeting.
The Asian markets are trading mixed, paring early gains, as weak Chinese manufacturing data added to signs the world's second-largest economy is losing traction. China's manufacturing sector defied expectations for expansion in November as new export order growth continued to ease, preliminary figures from HSBC and Markit Economics revealed. The HSBC manufacturing PMI came in at 50.0, a six-month low - shy of expectations for 50.2 and down from 50.4 in October.
Separately, data out of Japan showed that falling oil prices and higher exports helped trim Japan's trade deficit in October. The merchandise trade deficit came in at 709.995 billion yen, the smallest shortfall since June 2013 and down from the revised 960.6 billion yen deficit in September.
Looking ahead, investors eye a slew of U.S. reports on consumer prices, jobless claims and existing home sales, as well as European PMI and U.K. retail sales data later in the day for further clues on the global economic outlook.
The dollar continued its march against major currencies, including the safe-haven Japanese yen, keeping crude, gold and copper prices under pressure.
In corporate news, German steelmaker ThyssenKrupp AG said it would resume dividend payment as it reported its first annual profit in four years.
Pay-TV company Sky Deutschland AG said that its supervisory board has elected Jeremy Darroch, chief executive officer of British entertainment and communications provider British Sky Broadcasting Group Plc, as chairman of the supervisory board.
French aerospace giant Airbus Group NV has reportedly won an order to provide about 50 wide-body jets to Delta Air Lines Inc. in a deal valued at about $13 billion.
Sanofi announced its intention to launch high-potential new medicines and vaccines that could result in up to 18 new launches for the company between 2014 and 2020.
Belgian brewer Anheuser-Busch InBev NV, known as AB InBev, reportedly plans to cut jobs and consolidate its sales division in the U.S. following a detailed business review.
Mining giant BHP Billiton announced that it intends to hold an extraordinary general meeting for shareholder vote in May 2015 on its proposed spin-off of its less profitable assets such as aluminum, coal, manganese and silver assets, into a separate public-listed company.
European stocks ended mixed on Wednesday, as postal giant Royal Mail reported a fall in half-year profits and slumping iron ore prices took a toll on mining stocks. The German DAX rose 0.2 percent and France's CAC 40 added 0.1 percent, while the U.K.'s FTSE 100 fell 0.2 percent.
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May 08, 2026 15:50 ET Manufacturing and services sector survey results and labor market data from main economies were the highlight on the economics news front this week. Factory orders and jobs report dominated the news flow in the U.S. Similarly, industrial production data from German garnered attention in Europe. In Asia, purchasing managers’ survey results from China and the central bank decision from Australia were in focus.