European markets set to follow the pack as global markets trend higher

• London's FTSE is seen opening 25 points higher at 6,687, Germany's DAX up 78 points at 14,059, France's CAC 40 up 28 points at 5,825 and Italy's FTSE MIB up 163 points at 23,244, according to IG.

LONDON — European stocks are expected to open higher Thursday, as global markets jumped following reassuring comments from Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell on the inflation outlook.

London's FTSE is seen opening 25 points higher at 6,687, Germany's DAX up 78 points at 14,059, France's CAC 40 up 28 points at 5,825 and Italy's FTSE MIB up 163 points at 23,244, according to IG.

European markets are set to follow their global counterparts higher Thursday; stocks in Asia-Pacific jumped in Thursday trade and U.S. stock index futures moved higher in overnight trading after the Dow Jones Industrial Average surged to a record closing high during trading hours Wednesday.

Rising interest rates weighed on stocks early in the session, as the U.S. 10-year Treasury yield topped 1.4% and hit its highest level since February 2020. But yields came off their highs after Jerome Powell continued to downplay the threat of inflation, saying it could take three years to reach the central bank's target consistently.

In Wednesday's testimony in front of the House Financial Services Committee, Powell said inflation could be volatile as the economy reopens and there's increased demand. Still, the Fed chair does not expect inflation to run hot and said the central bank has tools to combat it if it should.

U.S. data releases will be watched carefully by global investors Thursday for more clues on the state of the American economy: initial jobless claims numbers will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET on Thursday, with economists surveyed by Dow Jones expecting a print of 845,000. Also at 8:30 a.m. ET the U.S. Department of Commerce will release its second estimate for fourth-quarter GDP.

It's a busy day for earnings and data release in Europe with the world's largest brewer Anheuser-Busch InBev, Veolia, AXA, Bayer, Standard Chartered, Aston Martin, Telefonica and Adecco Group all due to report.

A slew of European countries will release data on consumer and manufacturing confidence for February, including the Netherlands, France and Sweden.

Subscribe to CNBC PRO for exclusive insights and analysis, and live business day programming from around the world.

Source: Read Full Article