The German market is lower on Thursday, ahead of policy decisions from the European Central Bank and the Bank of England.
Market participants expect the ECB to trim benchmark interest rate to 0.10 percent from 0.25 percent, while slashing deposit rates to -0.10 percent from zero level at present. Economists expect the BoE to retain interest rates unchanged at 0.50 percent.
Eurozone retail turnover increased unexpectedly on food sales, data from Eurostat revealed. Retail sales advanced 0.4 percent month-on-month in April after rising 0.1 percent in March. Sales were expected to remain flat in April.
The Euro Stoxx 50 index of eurozone bluechip stocks is adding 0.07 percent, while the Stoxx Europe 50 index, which includes some major U.K. companies, is falling 0.09 percent.
The DAX index is currently falling 0.05 percent.
adidas is losing 1.4 percent. SAP and Continental are losing moderately.
Bucking the trend, ThyssenKrupp is gaining 1.5 percent.
Henkel is moderately higher. The consumer goods company announced the acquisition of France-based the Spotless Group SAS for 940 million euros.
Other markets in the region are mostly lower.
The Asian stocks ended mixed. Mixed U.S. data and a private survey showing easing growth in China's services sector tempered optimism surrounding the ECB's policy meeting amid bets the central bank will deliver further stimulus to act against very low inflation, ending months of dithering.
In the U.S., futures point to a cautious open on Wall Street. In the previous session, stocks recovered early losses to end slightly higher.
Crude for July delivery is losing $0.40 to $102.24 per barrel, while August gold is gaining $0.1 to $1244.4 a troy ounce.
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Market Analysis
May 22, 2026 14:46 ET Minutes of the latest Fed policy session was the highlight of the week along with survey data on the U.S. housing market. In Europe, survey data signaled the trends in the euro area private sector. Further, consumer price inflation data from the U.K. was in focus. In Asia, various economic indicators from China drew attention to the health of the economy.