European Shares Seen Up As Tapering Worries Ease

European stocks are seen opening higher on Thursday as tame U.S. inflation data eased fears the Federal Reserve would rush to reduce its economic support measures.

Asian markets were subdued in cautious trade as China’s banking and insurance watchdog stepped up scrutiny of insurance technology platforms and data showed China’s new bank loans fell more than expected in July to their lowest in nine months.

The dollar was little changed after retreating from an over four-month high overnight. Oil held steady after two days of gains.

The 10-year Treasury yields kept a hold above 1.30 percent while gold steadied after having seen its biggest single-day percentage gain since May 6 on Wednesday as worries of an early Fed tapering eased.

U.K. first quarterly GDP estimate for the second quarter, foreign trade and industrial production figures will be released later in the session.

The U.K. economy is forecast to grow 4.8 percent sequentially in the second quarter, reversing a 1.6 percent drop in the first quarter.

Eurostat is scheduled to release euro area industrial production data for June.

Economists expect industrial output to fall 0.2 percent on month, following a 1 percent drop in May.

Across the Atlantic, trading may be impacted by reaction to a pair of Labor Department reports on weekly jobless claims and producer price inflation.

U.S. stocks ended broadly higher overnight as new data indicated U.S. inflation growth may have peaked, helping ease tapering concerns. The consumer price index rose by 0.5 percent in July after climbing 0.9 percent in June.

The Dow rose 0.6 percent and the S&P 500 gained 0.3 percent to reach new record closing highs on the heels of the passage of a large infrastructure bill, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite slipped 0.2 percent.

European stocks hit record highs on Wednesday to clock their longest winning streak in two months on the back of strong earnings updates and optimism about economic recovery.

The pan European Stoxx 600 advanced 0.4 percent. The German DAX edged up 0.4 percent, France’s CAC 40 index gained 0.6 percent and the U.K.’s FTSE 100 added 0.8 percent.

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