The major European index futures are pointing towards a firm opening for the European markets on Thursday. However, global cues are mixed as the U.S. market closed mixed overnight after investors locked in profits from Tuesday's big advance, shrugging off the U.S. fed funds target rate cut. The Asian markets are trading sharply higher on Thursday as central banks around the globe moved to ease interest rates to shore up the markets and after the South Korean and Singaporean central banks sealed currency swap deals with the Federal Reserve. Crude oil prices continued to rise on Thursday, buoyed by a global stock market rally, a U.S. interest rate cut and a weaker-than-expected U.S. energy stockpiles report.
The Brent North Sea crude December futures were quoted at $67.23 a barrel, up $1.76 or 2.69%, by 11:29 p.m. ET. In London Wednesday, Brent North Sea crude for December settlement soared $5.18 to settle at $65.47 a barrel.
On Wednesday, the Dow closed down 74 points or 0.8% at 8,991 and the S&P 500 index fell 10 points or 1.1% to 930, while the technology-heavy Nasdaq composite index advanced 7.7 points or 0.5% to 1,657. In the Asia-Pacific region Thursday, Japan's Nikkei 225 index is gaining 7.4%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng index is up 9.5%, China's Shanghai Composite index is gaining 1.2%, Australia's All Ordinaries index is advancing 4.1%, and South Korea's KOSPI is jumping 12.6%.
The major economic data scheduled for release in the European region are the German retail sales report and the French producer prices index for September. The German unemployment and the Euro-Zone consumer confidence survey reports are also due for release today. In the U.S., traders will focus on the advance third-quarter GDP report and the weekly jobless claims report.
The European markets closed sharply higher on Wednesday, as banks rallied and commodity stocks gained on the back of rising crude oil and copper prices. The FTSEurofirst 300 index of pan-European blue chips closed up 7.5% at 897 and the narrower DJ Stoxx 50 index rose 9.9% to 2,266. In Europe, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 index surged up 8.1% to 4,242 and France's CAC 40 index climbed 9.2% to 3,402, while Germany's DAX index fell 0.3% to 4,808.
In Asia Thursday, the euro strengthened against the currencies of the U.S., the U.K. and Japan. The euro rose to a two-day high of 0.8016 against the pound and a 9-day high of 131.06 against the yen and climbed to 1.3299 against the dollar. The 15-nation currency closed Wednesday's European session at 0.7872 pound, 126.26 yen and $1.2916.
In the European markets, Alcatel-Lucent, Assicurazioni Generali, BASF, Continental, Deutsche Bank, France Telecom, Hugo Boss MAN, Metro, Novo Nordisk, Piaggio & C., and Volkswagen may move as the companies are scheduled to report earnings. Michelin & Cie. may fall after the tire maker said that it might miss its full-year earnings target due to a more-than-predicted fall in demand. Pernod Ricard is likely to see some action as the company is due to report its first-quarter sales before the market opens in Paris.
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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.