European Shares Seen Lower; Central Bank Decisions And Trump's Tariff Plans In Focus

(RTTNews) - European stocks may open broadly lower on Thursday as investors await more clarity on U.S. President Donald Trump's policy plans.

Asian stocks traded mixed, with Chinese and Hong Kong markets rising, after multiple Chinese government departments rolled out medium- and long-term investment plans to shore up the country's crumbling stock market.

China has announced a plan to direct hundreds of billions of yuan in new capital from state-owned insurance companies into stocks each year to boost investor confidence and revive its stock market.

The dollar gained ground ahead of a spate of central bank decisions due over the next week and gold eased from a near three-month peak, while oil prices dipped after industry data pointed to the first gain in U.S. crude stockpiles since mid-November.

The yen was little changed amid expectations the Bank of Japan will raise interest rates at the end of a two-day policy meeting on Friday.

In economic releases, Eurozone consumer confidence survey results as well as U.S. reports on initial jobless claims and Kansas City Fed manufacturing may garner some attention later in the day.

U.S. stocks rose overnight, pushing Wall Street close to record territory, buoyed by Netflix's robust quarterly results, Fed rate-cut optimism and President Trump's new initiative on artificial intelligence.

The Dow edged up by 0.3 percent, the S&P 500 gained 0.6 percent and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite rallied 1.3 percent.

European stocks rose broadly on Wednesday as expectations for Fed and ECB rate cuts offset concerns about Trump's tariff threats.

The pan European STOXX 600 gained 0.4 percent to close at a near four-month high. The German DAX climbed 1 percent to close at a record high as Adidas reported strong holiday-quarter results.

France's CAC 40 surged 0.9 percent while the U.K.'s FTSE 100 finished marginally lower.