European stocks were subdued near three-week lows on Thursday as investors watched the latest developments in the Middle East and awaited policy updates from the European Central Bank and the Bank of England.
Alphabet, Amazon, Meta Platforms and Microsoft all beat earnings expectations, but there was some concern over Meta's AI spending spree.
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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.