European stock markets are expected to open largely unchanged on Thursday, as investors await further news on the potential for a deal to lift the U.S. debt ceiling and comments from ECB chief Christine Lagarde. Optimism has been buoyed by the apparent determination of President Joe Biden and top U.S. congressional Republican Kevin McCarthy to reach an agreement soon.
In the corporate sector, Deutsche Bank has agreed to pay $75 million to settle a lawsuit by women who say they were abused by the late financier Jeffrey Epstein, and accused the German bank of facilitating his sex trafficking. Additionally, quarterly earnings are due from the likes of EasyJet, Burberry, BT Group, National Grid and Premier Foods.
Oil prices retreated Thursday, handing back some of the previous session’s solid gains as markets awaited more news on the potential lifting of the U.S. debt ceiling. Crude prices rallied over 3% on Wednesday on optimism that a deal on raising the U.S. debt limit could shortly be reached. By 02:00 ET, U.S. crude futures traded 0.5% lower at $72.44 a barrel, while the Brent contract dropped 0.5% to $76.56. Additionally, gold futures fell 0.2% to $1,980.75/oz, while EUR/USD traded 0.1% lower at 1.0829.