European stock futures higher; ECB meeting firmly in spotlight
Investing.com — European stock markets are expected to open higher Thursday, as investors digest comments from Fed Chair Jerome Powell ahead of the latest European Central Bank meeting.
At 02:15 ET (06:15 GMT), the DAX futures contract in Germany traded 0.3% higher, CAC 40 futures in France climbed 0.5% and the FTSE 100 futures contract in the U.K. rose 0.2%.
The U.S. Federal Reserve raised interest rates by a quarter of a percentage point on Wednesday, as widely expected, marking the central bank's 11th rate increase in its last 12 meetings.
While Fed Chair Jerome Powell kept open the possibility of a further hike later in the year, confidence is growing that this could be the last increase of the cycle.
Additionally, Powell noted that the central bank no longer expects a U.S. recession, raising the possibility of a so-called soft landing for the largest economy in the world and a major global growth driver.
Attention now turns to the European Central Bank, which is also expected to raise interest rates by a quarter of a percentage point later in the session.
Given a hike is largely baked in, the focus will be on President Christine Lagarde’s following press conference for clues on what's to come later in the summer.
Inflation remains elevated in the eurozone, with annual CPI at 5.5% in June, but growth is slowing and recent comments from council members have tended towards the dovish side.
Turning to the corporate sector, the quarterly earnings season continues in full flow.
French carmaker Renault (EPA:RENA) reported a record operating margin for the first half of the year, helped by higher prices for its new cars and cost reductions.
Food giant Nestle (SIX:NESN) lifted its full-year sales outlook after raising
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