U.K. stocks were slightly higher on Thursday as investors kept a close eye on developments in the Middle East and awaited comments later today from Bank of England policymaker Megan Greene for further clues on when the central might lower interest rates.

Shares of ABB Ltd. were gaining around 6 percent in the morning trading in Switzerland after the Swiss engineering company on Thursday reported higher Operational EBITA, a key earnings metric, in its first quarter. Meanwhile, net profit and orders were lower and revenues were nearly flat. The company said its order intake for the first quarter was better than expected.

French stocks advanced on Thursday as soft eurozone inflation data for March booted hopes for an ECB rate cut in June.

German stocks edged up slightly in cautious trade on Thursday despite the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite logging a fourth straight day of losses overnight.

Asian stocks rose broadly on Thursday, as the dollar and U.S. Treasury yields retreated from recent highs and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp, the world's largest producer of advanced processors, clocked a stronger-than-expected first-quarter profit on strong AI chip demand.

The British pound sterling is showing signs of recovery, bouncing back from a five-month low, with GBP/USD stabilising around the 1.2470 mark on Thursday.

Euro edges higher despite continued hawkish commentary from Fed officials; Geopolitical developments cast doubt on ECB June rate cut; Yen fails to make considerable gains as market looks to Friday’s CPI data

Oil prices experienced a significant drop in the last session that was influenced by an accelerating build-up in U.S. crude inventories and concerns about oil demand.

Expert market comment made by senior analyst Alex Kuptsikevich of the FxPro Analyst Team: The dollar pauses after a climb

Expert market comment made by senior analyst Alex Kuptsikevich of the FxPro Analyst Team: Bitcoin and Ethereum in the eye of the storm?