European Stocks Set for Lower Open

European stocks were little changed on Thursday as investors assessed developments in global bond markets and continued to monitor rising oil prices amid persistent Middle East tensions. The US Treasury’s decision to at least double the size of its longer-dated bond buybacks pushed Treasury yields sharply lower. Meanwhile, uncertainty surrounding the US-Iran standoff continued to weigh on markets as oil prices remained elevated. Among major stocks, ASML and L’Oréal advanced, while automotive shares were among the strongest performers, with BMW gaining 1.4%, Volkswagen 1% and Mercedes-Benz 0.8%. In contrast, Rheinmetall fell 1.5%, while SAP, BASF and Nokia declined around 1.3%-1.4%. LVMH and Linde also traded lower. Investors are also assessing German producer-price data, which showed inflation reaching its highest level in more than three years. Attention now turns to the ECB’s latest meeting accounts for clues on future monetary policy.

European equity markets were set to open lower on Thursday, extending recent declines despite a broader global market rally after the US Treasury Department announced plans to at least double the size of its bond buybacks, sending Treasury yields sharply lower. Investors also remained focused on rising oil prices amid heightened uncertainty in the Middle East, with the US and Iran still at a stalemate. In Europe, investors will assess German PPI data and the ECB’s latest Monetary Policy Meeting Accounts after the central bank left key interest rates unchanged in July. Meanwhile, no major earnings reports are scheduled in Europe today. In premarket trading, Euro Stoxx 50 and Stoxx 600 futures were both down around 0.1%.

European stocks closed slightly lower on Wednesday amid sharp losses for banks and AI stocks. The Euro STOXX 50 dropped 0.2% to 6,454 and the STOXX Europe 600 closed flat at 652. European banks tumbled in the session despite the pullback in long-term yields after the US Treasury doubled its buyback program. BNP Paribas and ING fell 2.4% each, while Santander, UniCredit, and Intesa Sanpaolo lost 1.3%. In the meantime, ASML dropped 2.2% and Infineon slumped 4%, tracking the AI infrastructure sector in the US after financial results from OpenAI refrained from keeping up with the sharp growth from Antropic. On the other hand, consumer cyclical companies closed higher with Inditex and LVMH gaining around 2% each. Also, the jump in gold prices from the Treasury intervention lifted miners in London, with Rio Tinto and Glencore adding 4% and 5%, respectively.