LONDON – European stock markets advanced on Thursday, after a global return to the markets, after days of negative sentiment.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 gained 0.3% in early trade, with technology stocks rising 1% to drive gains as all sectors except financial services traded in positive territory.
European markets are following the positive momentum seen in yesterday’s session, repeating the optimistic Asia-Pacific transactions overnight, although the same cannot be said for their US counterparts.
US stock futures fell on Wednesday to overnight trading, despite shares yielding a two-day loss on Tuesday as companies reopening the economy led the way above.
Europe has a busy day on Thursday. Nestle, SAP and Renault are among the companies that will report today.
Credit Suisse, meanwhile, reported a net loss of 252 million Swiss francs ($ 275 million) as it digested the impact of the Archegos hedge fund scandal.
The European Central Bank is also scheduled to launch its latest monetary policy announcement, although no major changes are expected.
Earnings and data communications continue to dictate US market sentiment this week with several companies, including AT&T, American Airlines and Intel, among those that will report on Thursday.
Economic data released on Thursday will also provide investors with a snapshot of the ongoing economic recovery. Initial complaints for the unemployed will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET, economists expect a print of 603,000, according to Dow Jones estimates.
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– CNBC’s Pippa Stevens helped report this story