European Shares Seen Opening Up As Bank Jitters Continue To Ease

(RTTNews) - European stocks look set to open broadly higher on Thursday as concerns on the recent banking turmoil in the U.S. and Europe continue to ease.

The economic calendar remains heavy today, with preliminary German inflation data for March, Italian producer price data for February, the ECB economic bulletin and business & consumer surveys due later in the day.

Across the Atlantic, trading may be impacted by reaction to a report on weekly jobless claims as well as a revised reading on fourth quarter GDP.

Asian stocks traded mixed, with China, Hong Kong and Japanese markets slipping into the red.

The dollar advanced, weighing on oil and gold prices. Focus shifted to the Fed's next policy meeting in May, with analysts seeing a 50/50 split between a pause and a 25-bps rate hike.

U.S. stocks showed a strong move to the upside overnight amid easing banking concerns. On the economic front, data showed both mortgage applications and pending home sales rose in February.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite soared 1.8 percent after upbeat outlook from Micron Technology. The S&P 500 gained 1.4 percent and the Dow added 1 percent.

European stocks also closed on a strong note Wednesday as top U.S. regulators expressed confidence that banks were solvent and UBS rehired Sergio Ermotti as CEO to steer its massive takeover of neighbor Credit Suisse.

The pan European STOXX 600 advanced 1.3 percent. The German DAX climbed 1.2 percent, France's CAC 40 index rallied 1.4 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 jumped 1.1 percent.