European Shares Seen Broadly Higher With ECB Meeting In Focus

(RTTNews) - European stocks may open broadly higher on Thursday ahead of a European Central Bank (ECB) policy meeting later in the day.

The ECB is all but certain to keep interest rates steady but may open the door open for a September rate cut.

Asian stocks were broadly lower, with Japan's Nikkei falling over 2 percent as the yen scaled a six-week high due to suspected BOJ intervention.

Tech shares were among the worst hit after reports that the United States was mulling tighter curbs on exports of advanced semiconductor technology to China.

As trade tensions mount, traders also awaited policy news from a key leadership gathering in Beijing.

The U.S. dollar held near its weakest in four months against a basket of currencies while gold held firm near record highs on bets for interest-rate cuts by the Federal Reserve in September.

Oil extended overnight gains after data showed a bigger-than-expected drop in U.S. crude stocks.

U.S. stocks ended mixed overnight as shares of chipmakers and large-cap companies retreated on valuation concerns.

In economic releases, data showed housing starts and building permits recovered in June. A measure of U.S. industrial production cooled in the month but still exceeded analyst expectations.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite plummeted 2.8 percent amid talk of tougher rules to rein in China's chip industry and Trump's comments that Taiwan should pay the U.S. for defense. The S&P 500 tumbled 1.4 percent while the Dow rose 0.6 percent.

European stocks fell broadly on Wednesday after a profit warning from Dutch semiconductor firm ASML and amid worries about slowing Chinese demand.

The pan European STOXX 600 dropped half a percent. The German DAX shed 0.4 percent and France's CAC 40 slipped 0.1 percent while the U.K.'s FTSE 100 edged up 0.3 percent.