- London's FTSE is expected to open 32 points higher at 5,897, Germany's DAX is seen opening 39 points higher at 12,831, France's CAC 40 up 16 points at 4,835 and Italy's FTSE MIB up 88 points at 19,049, according to IG.
European stocks are expected to open higher Thursday, tracking gains on Wall Street in the previous session.
London's FTSE is expected to open 32 points higher at 5,897, Germany's DAX is seen opening 39 points higher at 12,831, France's CAC 40 up 16 points at 4,835 and Italy's FTSE MIB up 88 points at 19,049, according to IG.
The mood among European markets is following a trend in the U.S., where stock futures rose slightly in overnight trading as investors braced for the start of the fourth quarter with hopes of fiscal stimulus.
Dow futures rose 115 points. S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq 100 futures ticked up 0.25% and 0.3%, respectively.
On Wednesday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed more than 300 points, after being up more than 550 points on hopes the White House and Senate would agree to a second stimulus package. The vote was delayed, however, after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin failed to strike a coronavirus aid deal; although the pair said talks would continue.
Meanwhile in Asia, Japan's Tokyo Stock Exchange halted trading on Thursday due to a technical issue, while many major markets in the region (those in China, Hong Kong, South Korea and Taiwan) are closed for holidays.
The pandemic continues to dominate investor sentiment with news on potential coronavirus vaccines being followed closely. Drugmaker Moderna's CEO has said he doesn't expect to apply for an emergency use authorization with the Food and Drug Administration for the company's potential Covid-19 vaccine until after the U.S. presidential election on Nov. 3.
Speaking to the Financial Times, CEO Stephane Bancel said: "November 25 is the time we will have enough safety data to be able to put into an EUA [emergency use authorization] file that we would send to the FDA — assuming that the safety data is good, i.e. a vaccine is deemed to be safe," he said.
In European earnings, retailer H&M releases third-quarter results. On the data front, a slew of European countries' final readings of September PMI data is released and the euro zone unemployment rate for August is due.
– CNBC's Maggie Fitzgerald and Eustance Huang contributed to this market report.
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