At its last meeting the ECB upgraded its inflation forecasts and president Christine Lagarde said the bank would step up the weekly purchase program in an attempt to keep a lid on yields. Photo: Olivier Matthys/ Pool/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
European stock markets had a positive open on Thursday ahead of the European Central Bank (ECB) rate meeting.
In London, the FTSE 100 (^FTSE) rose 0.20% after opening, while the CAC (^FCHI) jumped 0.63% and the DAX (^GDAXI) was 0.54% higher.
Analysts are predicting that the ECB will not make any changes to its stimulus packages as it meets to set monetary policy.
At its last meeting the ECB upgraded its inflation forecasts and president Christine Lagarde said the bank would step up the weekly purchase program in an attempt to keep a lid on yields.
Connor Campbell of SpreadEx said: “The European Central Bank isn’t expected to ruffle any feathers this Thursday, with analysts predicting that it will be another steady session from Christine Lagarde and co.
“But with a while until the next meeting – the central bank skips May – the ECB could use this opportunity to sharpen its forward guidance. There are also hawks lurking among the doves, meaning the get-together may not go as smoothly as forecast.”
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S&P 500 futures (ES=F) were down 0.02%, Dow futures (YM=F) were flat, and Nasdaq futures (NQ=F) were 0.03% higher as trade began in Europe.
“After two days of declines, US markets turned around yesterday, reversing most of their Tuesday losses, with the likes of the Russell 2000 and the Nasdaq leading the way,” Michael Hewson of CMC Markets said.
“While the about turn is a welcome respite from the start of the week, the rebound can’t disguise the divergence taking place in various countries when it comes to vaccination levels and infection rates.”
Despite these concerns, travel stocks rebounded on Wednesday, led by cruise lines and airlines.
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Asian stocks mainly rose overnight, extending a rebound in global markets after a sharp selloff earlier this week.
Japan led the gains with the Nikkei (^N225) rallying 2.38% after sliding around 2% in both of the last two sessions.
Chinese blue chips were mixed, however. The Hang Seng (^HSI) rose 0.51% while the Shanghai Composite (000001.SS) dipped 0.23%
Oil prices (BZ=F) also fell slightly on worries about rising COVID cases in some parts of the world, particularly India, which yesterday set a record for new coronavirus cases in a single day.
The country is the world’s third-largest oil importer, consuming almost 10% of global crude oil exports.
India reported more than 300,000 new coronavirus cases in a 24-hour period – the biggest one-day total seen anywhere across the globe since the start of the pandemic.
Earlier this week prime minister Narendra Modi said earlier this week that India was facing a coronavirus “storm” which was overwhelming its health system.
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