European Shares Set To Open On Firm Note

European stocks look set to open higher on Thursday, though trading volumes may remain thin due to the Thanksgiving Day holiday in the U.S.

Asian markets were mixed as solid U.S. economic data along with an uptick in inflation supported recent comments by many Fed officials that there’s no rush to cut rates.

Traders also continued to fret about the possibility of a tariff war sparked by U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s tariff policies.

Earlier today, the Bank of Korea cut its key policy rate for the second straight month and lowered its growth forecasts, citing weaker global demand, higher tariffs and more policy uncertainty.

The dollar was on the defensive while the euro held steady after rising in the previous session as ECB board member Isabel Schnabel sounded hawkish, saying that rate cuts should be gradual and move to neutral, not accommodative, territory.

Oil and gold prices were marginally lower amid easing geopolitical tensions after a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hezbollah.

In economic releases, Destatis is set to publish Germany’s preliminary consumer and harmonized prices for November later in the day. Inflation is forecast to rise to 2.3 percent from 2.0 percent in October.

Also, the European Commission is due to publish its euro area economic sentiment survey data.

U.S. stocks retreated from record highs overnight as PC makers Dell Technologies (DELL) and HP Inc. (HPQ) provided disappointing earnings guidance and new data showed an uptick in inflation.

The annual rate of growth in the PCE price index accelerated to 2.3 percent in October from 2.1 percent in September, while the core personal consumption expenditure index climbed 2.8 percent from the corresponding period last year, reaching a six-month high, the Commerce Department said.

In other economic news, the American economy expanded at a healthy 2.8 percent annual pace from July through September while weekly jobless claims fell again last week, separate reports showed.

The S&P 500 slid 0.4 percent to snap a seven-session winning streak and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite shed 0.6 percent while the Dow dipped 0.3 percent to end a three-day streak of record highs.

European stocks ended mixed on Wednesday, shrugging off early weakness on concerns about potential inflationary pressures arising from Donald Trump’s proposed tariff policies.

Investor sentiment was also dented as the risk premium investors demand to hold French debt rose to its highest level since 2012 amid fiscal and political turbulence and angst over the fate of the new government.

The pan-European STOXX 600 eased 0.2 percent. The German DAX dropped 0.2 percent and France’s CAC 40 gave up 0.7 percent while the U.K.’s FTSE 100 edged up by 0.2 percent.

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