European markets expected to open lower

(RTTNews) – European stock markets are expected to open negative on Thursday, driven by losses in their Asian counterparts and weak sentiment on Wall Street. Geopolitical concerns are expected to weigh heavily on market sentiment.

Wall Street closed on a mixed note on Wednesday, amid anticipation of NVIDIA’s earnings release as well as geopolitical concerns. The Nasdaq Composite lost 0.11 percent to close at 18,966.14 while the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.32 percent to close at 43,408.47.

European markets closed on a mostly bearish note on Wednesday amid renewed tensions between Russia and Ukraine. Mixed results and higher-than-expected inflation figures in the UK also weighed on sentiment. The French CAC 40 slipped 0.43 percent, followed by the pan-European Stoxx-50 which erased 0.42 percent. The German DAX fell 0.29 percent. Britain’s FTSE 100 index also fell 0.17 percent. The Swiss SMI fell slightly by 0.02 percent.

Current indications from European stock futures indicate negative sentiment. The DAX Futures (December) slipped 0.17 percent. The CAC 40 Futures Index (December) fell 0.41 percent. The FTSE 100 Futures Index (December) also fell slightly by 0.06 percent. The pan-European Stoxx 50 Futures Index (December) fell 0.15 percent. SMI (December) futures, however, ended Wednesday’s session up 0.44 percent.

U.S. stock futures are trading lower as investors digest Nvidia’s highly anticipated earnings report. The US 30 Index (DJIA) is trading down 0.03 percent, while the US 500 (S&P 500) is trading down 0.23 percent.

Asian stock markets are trading on a mostly negative note. Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 index lost 0.95 percent. India’s Nifty 50 index fell 0.74 percent. China’s Shanghai Composite Index lost 0.48 percent while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng erased 0.42 percent. Australia’s S&P ASX 200 index edged down 0.04 percent. DJ New Zealand gained 0.32 percent while South Korea’s KOSPI rose 0.21 percent.

The dollar index, which measures the strength of the U.S. dollar against six currencies, is showing weakness after a rebound on Wednesday. The DXY fell slightly to 106.58 from 106.68 on Wednesday and 106.21 on Tuesday. The EUR/USD pair edged up 0.08 percent to 1.0551 while the GBP/USD pair edged up 0.04 percent to trade at 1.2655.

Supported by safe-haven demand, gold extended its gains. Gold futures for December settlement are trading at $2,662.65, 0.41% higher than the previous close of $2,651.70.

Crude oil prices are trading above the flat line amid lingering geopolitical concerns. Brent crude futures for January settlement added 0.25 percent to trade at $72.99, while WTI crude futures for January settlement gained 0.29 percent to trade at $68.95.

Data due in the region on Thursday includes Business Confidence for November in France, CBI Industrial Trends Orders for November in France, Consumer Confidence Flash for November in the Eurozone and GfK Consumer Confidence for November in the Kingdom -United.

Key earnings updates expected in the region include Halma, International Distribution Services, Jet2, Mitie Group, Ithaca Energy and CMC Markets.

The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.