European Benchmarks Seen Opening Strong

(RTTNews) - Markets in Europe are expected to open on a strong note on Thursday tracking the bullish momentum in the Asian markets as well as the rally in Wall Street, a day earlier. Despite the strong retails sales numbers from the U.S. on Wednesday, markets have chosen to view it as a sign of the resilience of the U.S. economy, rather than as a trigger for further Fed tightening.

Wall Street had closed on a strong note on Wednesday as a fresh set of data indicated a strong economy. Retail sales jumped 3 percent, more than the expected level of 1.8 percent. The Nasdaq Composite added 0.92 percent to close at 12,070.59 whereas the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.11 percent to finish trading at 34,128.05.

Markets in the region too closed higher on Wednesday led by France's CAC 40 that surged 1.21 percent. Germany's DAX added 0.82 percent whereas U.K.'s FTSE 100 gained 0.55 percent. The pan-European Stoxx-600 gained 0.42 percent whereas Switzerland's SMI added 0.36 percent.

Current indications from the European stock futures imply a positive sentiment at play. The DAX Futures (Mar) is currently trading 0.35 percent higher. The FTSE 100 Futures (Mar) is currently trading 0.41 percent higher. The pan-European Stoxx 50 Futures (Mar) is trading 0.42 percent higher. The SMI Futures (Mar) is trading 0.57 percent higher. The CAC 40 Futures (March) had closed 0.89 percent higher on Wednesday.

American stock futures are trading in negative territory. The US 30 (DJIA) is up 0.01 percent whereas the US500 (S&P 500) is 0.14 percent higher.

Asian stock markets are trading higher tracking positive sentiment in Wall Street on Wednesday. South Korea's KOSPI and Hong Kong's Hang Seng have gained around 1.8 percent each. Australia's S&P ASX 200 and Japan's Nikkei 225 have both added 0.8 percent. China's Shanghai Composite and India's Nifty 50 have also added around half a percent. New Zealand's NZX 50 has gained 0.63 percent.

The Dollar Index (DXY), a measure of the Dollar's strength relative to six currencies, has decreased to 103.69, down 0.22 percent on an overnight basis. The EUR/USD pair has increased 0.16 percent to 1.0706 whereas the GBP/USD pair has gained 0.16 percent to trade at 1.2045.

Gold Futures for April settlement are trading 0.08 percent higher at $1,846.70 per troy ounce amidst the dollar's weakness. The previous close was at $1,845.30.

Crude oil prices rebounded as demand forecasts by both OPEC and the International Energy Agency helped offset the negative sentiment created by the massive inventory build in the U.S. Brent Crude Futures for April settlement has increased 0.70 percent to $85.98 whereas WTI Crude Futures for March settlement has increased 0.92 percent to $79.31.

Major earnings updates due from the region on Thursday include Airbus Group, Air Liquide, Pernod Ricard, Relx, Orange, Standard Chartered, Teleperformance, Aeroports Paris, Renault and Rexel.