European Shares Likely To Open On Steady Note

(RTTNews) - European stocks are seen opening on a steady note Thursday as U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi left Taiwan after reiterating her support for the island.

Her trip so far has had little impact on markets but there is potential for escalation of tensions.

Asian markets were seeing modest gains as upbeat U.S. economic data and corporate guidance helped calm recession fears.

The dollar hovered near its highest this week following hawkish commentary from Fed officials.

Treasury yields were mixed and gold edged higher after San Francisco Fed President Mary Daly said that it would be reasonable for the Fed to raise rates interest rates by 50 basis points at the next meeting in September.

Oil held steady after plunging to an almost six-month low overnight as data showed an unexpected surge in stockpiles and the oil producer group, known as OPEC+, approved a small increase in production.

In economic releases, the ECB will publish its monthly economic bulletin later in the day.

Across the Atlantic, reports on weekly jobless claims and the trade deficit are likely to attract attention, although trading activity may be somewhat subdued ahead of the release of unemployment data due on Friday that will guide the path of interest rates.

U.S. stocks snapped a two-day losing streak on Wednesday and Treasury yields hit two-week highs, as investors cheered encouraging economic data and solid earnings reports from big companies including Starbucks.

June data on durable goods orders and manufacturing topped forecasts and activity in the services sector unexpectedly strengthened to a three-month high in July, helping ease concerns about a recession.

The S&P 500 surged 1.6 percent to an almost two-month high, while the Dow gained 1.3 percent and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite soared 2.6 percent.

European stocks also closed with fairly solid gains on Wednesday. The pan European Stoxx 600 rose half a percent.

The German DAX and France's CAC 40 index both jumped around 1 percent while the U.K.'s FTSE 100 added half a percent.