23 February 2024, Hesse, Frankfurt/Main: The lights of Frankfurt am Main’s banking skyline glow in the last light of day. Photo: Boris Roessler/dpa (Photo by Boris Roessler/picture alliance via Getty Images)
Boris Roessler | Picture Alliance | Getty Images
LONDON — European markets opened higher on Thursday as investors awaited the European Central Bank’s interest rate decision.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 was 0.41% higher at 8:02 a.m. London time, with all major European bourses starting the day in positive territory.
Most sectors also started the day in the green, with food and beverage stocks leading gains and rising 0.78%, while oil and gas gained 0.73%. Technology inched higher, starting the day up 0.23%.
This comes after several days of negative investor sentiment, with the pan-European Stoxx 600 having closed lower for back-to-back sessions.
Tech stocks had tumbled on Wednesday as investors in the U.S. rotated out of mega-cap tech stocks and the chip sector declined globally as concerns about geopolitical tensions and reports of tighter export restrictions from the U.S. emerged.
Asia-Pacific markets tumbled on the news from the chip sector overnight, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 declining more than 2%.
U.S. stock futures were slightly higher even as the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite had its worst session since 2022 on Wednesday.
Back in Europe, the European Central Bank is expected to announce its latest interest rate decision Thursday. Markets are widely expecting the central bank to leave rates unchanged, but investors are hoping for guidance on the path ahead for monetary policy.
Novartis, Volvo, Ubisoft and Nokia are among the companies set to report earnings on Thursday.
