European Shares Poised For Steady Open Ahead Of BoE Meeting

(RTTNews) - European stocks are likely to open higher on Thursday as focus shifts to the Bank of England's policy meeting later in the day and Friday's U.S. employment report.

The Bank of England is likely to keep its interest rate on hold for a second consecutive meeting as data continues to show moderating price pressures and weakening economic activity.

Across the Atlantic, trading later in the day may be impacted by reaction to reports on initial jobless claims, labor productivity and factory orders ahead of the all-important jobs report for October due on Friday.

Forecasts for the jobs report reveal a slowdown in hiring and wage growth in the month.

Asian markets rallied on expectations that the U.S. central bank may now be finished with the most aggressive tightening cycle in four decades.

The dollar tracked Treasury yields lower, helping gold prices lift higher in Asian trade.

Oil prices rose more than 1 percent, rebounding from a one-month low hit the previous day amid signs that Israeli ground forces are expanding operations in the Gaza Strip.

The Pentagon has announced that an additional 300 U.S. troops will deploy to the U.S. Central Command area of operations as war rages in the Middle East.

U.S. stocks rallied overnight as comments from Fed Chair Jerome Powell suggested that rate hikes were done.

Weaker than expected ADP employment and manufacturing data also eased concerns about the outlook for interest rates.

The Dow rose 0.7 percent to close higher for the third consecutive session as the Fed skipped a rate hike for the third time this year.

The S&P 500 rallied 1.1 percent and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite jumped 1.6 percent.

European stocks extended gains for a third day running on Wednesday after data showed euro zone inflation fell to a two-year low of 2.9 percent in October and the euro area economy shrank slightly in the third quarter.

The pan European STOXX 600 advanced 0.7 percent. The German DAX gained 0.8 percent, France's CAC 40 inched up 0.7 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 edged up 0.3 percent.