European Shares Likely To Open On Firm Note

(RTTNews) - European stocks may open on a firm note Thursday, though volatility cannot be ruled out due to lingering Middle East tensions.

Media reports suggest that U.S. President Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu discussed Israel's expected military retaliation against Iran in their first call in over a month Wednesday.

Meanwhile, investors eagerly await September's U.S. consumer price inflation data later in the day, with economists anticipating a 0.1 percent increase on a monthly basis, and a 2.3 percent advance over the prior 12 months.

The CPI print along with weekly jobless claims figures due later in the day and producer price inflation data due on Friday might influence the size of the next rate cut by the U.S. central bank.

Currently, Fed funds futures trading data suggests a roughly 70 percent likelihood of a quarter-point cut at the Fed's November policy meeting.

On the earnings front, Delta Air Lines will unveil its quarterly earnings before the U.S. opening bell.

The account of monetary policy meeting of the European Central Bank is due, headlining a light day for the European economic news.

Closer home, Destatis is scheduled to issue Germany's retail sales data for May later in the day. Sales had declined 1.2 percent on month in April.

The European Central Bank will publish the account of the monetary policy meeting of the governing council held on September 11 and 12. At the meeting, the bank had lowered its key interest rates by 25 basis point.

Asian stocks followed Wall Street higher, with benchmark indexes in China and Hong Kong surging 3-4 percent after data showed home sales ticked up in some cities during the Golden Week holiday.

Market participants are also looking for additional measures to stimulate the world's second-largest economy.

The dollar steadied near a seven-week peak, and gold nudged higher while oil prices were up around 1 percent on concerns over potential Israeli attack on Iran and a spike in fuel demand as a major storm barreled into Florida.

U.S. stocks climbed overnight as minutes from the Fed's September meeting showed a "substantial majority" of Fed officials at the meeting favored the larger half-point rate cut, but were divided over the economic outlook, and are in no rush for another half-point cut.

The Dow and S&P 500 rose 1 percent and 0.7 percent, respectively to close at record levels while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite gained 0.6 percent.

European stocks closed higher on Wednesday ahead of the release of Fed meeting minutes and amid hopes that the Chinese government will announce more fiscal stimulus at a Saturday briefing on fiscal policy.

The pan European STOXX 600 climbed 0.7 percent. The German DAX rallied 1 percent, France's CAC 40 added half a percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 advanced 0.7 percent.