European Stocks Poised for Higher Open

European stocks edged higher on Thursday, with both the STOXX 50 and the STOXX 600 gaining 0.3% and extending the previous session’s gains, as investors digested political developments and a fresh wave of corporate earnings. Market attention centred on the two-day summit between US President Trump and Chinese President Xi, where discussions are expected to cover Taiwan, Iran and AI. In the UK, pressure continued to mount on Prime Minister Starmer amid growing calls for his resignation. Meanwhile, enthusiasm around AI remained strong after Cisco delivered a stronger-than-expected sales outlook. ASML Holding (0.8%), Novartis (0.8%), AstraZeneca (0.7%), SAP (0.9%) booked gains and Siemens was up almost 3% as the company said it plans to acquire several core business units from Mermec Group. Telefonica also soared more than 5% after beating a profit forecast. On the other hand, 3i tumble almost 19% to bottom the STOXX 600 after warning that sales growth at Action had slowed sharply.

European equity markets were set to open higher on Thursday, building on the previous session’s gains as investors responded to stronger-than-expected growth in the British economy during the first quarter, before the full effects of the Iran war began to weigh on activity. Still, political uncertainty in the UK remained elevated, with Prime Minister Keir Starmer continuing to face pressure over his leadership. Investors also focused on the meeting between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping, amid hopes that the two sides could improve relations despite ongoing disputes over tariffs and other sensitive issues. On the corporate side, earnings reports are expected from National Grid, 3i Group, Brenntag, Burberry and Telefonica, among others. In premarket trading, Euro Stoxx 50 futures rose 0.8%, while Stoxx 600 futures gained 0.5%.

European stocks closed firmly higher on Wednesday, halting four consecutive sessions of losses amid a rebound in the tech sector and stability for banks. The Eurozone's STOXX 50 added 1% to 5,870 and the STOXX 600 gained 0.7% to 611. A sharp rebound in European AI stocks matched the momentum for their US counterparts in the last session as US chip producer CEOs were due to meet with Chinese officials for potential trade agreements. Infineon surged over 10% after receiving broker upgrades, ASML jumped 5%, and Prosus added 4%. Meanwhile, a busy session for German earnings included results by Siemens, which missed revenue estimates but closed slightly higher after launching a share buyback program. Also, Allianz climbed 1.3% after reporting record first-quarter earnings and profit. Merck surged 7.3% after posting a smaller-than-expected decline in earnings and raising its 2026 guidance outlook.