European Stock Futures Exchanges Diverse; Recession Fears Stir Up Nervousness.

European stock markets are expected to trade mixed on Thursday, with investors concerned about the state of the global economy ahead of a key central bank meeting next week.

Germany's DAX futures traded 0.1% higher, France's CAC 40 futures rose 0.1%, while the UK's FTSE 100 futures fell 0.1%.

Two days ago European markets close lower as global sentiment wavers on recession fears, currently European investors are likely to retain their nerves as the week nears its end, having been rocked by downbeat comments from top executives at a number of senior banks, predicting that a tightening of monetary conditions is likely to result in a global recession in 2023. Next week sees policy- setting meetings by the US Federal Reserve and the Bank. The European Central, and these two senior central banks are both expected to raise interest rates once again to tackle inflation which is still at high levels.

The Fed is widely expected to issue a 50 basis point rate hike next week, and while that will be a smaller hike than its recent rate hike, investors are increasingly concerned that this will mean a longer rate hike cycle. The ECB is also likely to rise 50 basis points, but there are hawkish groups within the central bank who want a third straight 75 basis point increase, even after eurozone inflation fell for the first time in 18 months.

“Those were happy numbers last month, but I fear it is too soon to celebrate peak inflation,” European Central Bank Board of Governors member Peter Kazimir said Wednesday. “It is not right to slow down monetary tightening just because of a better inflation rate. I still see many reasons to continue with policy tightening measures.”

There has been some good news this week, with authorities in China easing various COVID restrictions, a decision that could boost the world's second-largest economy, and a key export market for European companies. There is a bit of a European economic calendar on Thursday, but the appearances of various central bankers, including ECB president

Christine Lagarde, will be studied closely. Crude oil prices rose Thursday, rebounding after falling to their lowest level this year, although gains were tentative as fears of a global economic slowdown grew.

The market received a boost from data released Wednesday showing US inventories shrank more than expected last week, while China easing more COVID mobility restrictions also helped sentiment. However, concerns about demand growth, particularly from the US market, the world's largest consumer, remain the dominant influence in the crude oil market.

US crude futures traded 1.6% higher at $73.19 a barrel, while the Brent contract added 1.4% to $78.28. Brent settled on Wednesday below the previous year's closing low touched on the first day of 2022, while the US contract dropped to a new yearly low. Moreover, gold futures inched higher to $1798.30/oz, while EUR/USD traded 0.1% higher at 1.0514.