European Shares Seen Lower As Investors Await Key US Data

(RTTNews) - European stocks are seen opening lower on Thursday despite earnings from Alphabet, Microsoft and Meta boosting optimism around tech businesses.

Asian markets traded mixed while U.S. stock futures edged higher after House Republicans passed the U.S. debt bill in lower house. President Joe Biden said that he would veto the bill if it passed the upper House.

In economic releases, a preliminary reading on first quarter U.S. GDP along with reports on weekly jobless claims and pending home sales may attract attention later in the day.

Investors also keenly await the Fed's preferred inflation gauge on Friday for hints on when the Federal Reserve might consider pausing interest rate rises.

Gold inched up on dollar weakness, with the euro holding near a one-year high versus the greenback, heading into next week's FOMC and ECB meetings.

Oil prices edged up slightly after dropping by almost 4 percent in the U.S. trading session overnight on recession fears and signs of increased Russian oil exports.

U.S. stocks ended mixed overnight while the dollar dipped, as investors weighed upbeat tech earnings against ongoing turmoil in the regional banking sector and congressional wrangling over raising the federal debt ceiling.

New data showed that orders for core capital goods fell more than expected in March, adding to recession worries.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite bounced off its lowest closing level in almost a month to close half a percent higher, while the Dow dropped 0.7 percent and the S&P 500 shed 0.4 percent.

European stocks closed Wednesday's session lower amid lingering concerns about high interest rates and a potential U.S. recession later this year.

The pan European STOXX 600 declined 0.8 percent. The German DAX and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 both fell by half a percent while France's CAC 40 index gave up 0.9 percent.