· European stocks opened in the red on Thursday morning, as investors waded through the latest batch of corporate earnings, ahead of a central bank decision in the U.K.
The pan-European STOXX 600 opened down 0.4 percent, with the majority of Europe's sectors posting declines at the start of trade.
Meantime, European markets are likely to be pulling back from the sharp gains seen in the previous session, as investors turn their attention to fresh economic data and political news
· Global share markets remained shaky on Thursday as U.S. bond yields crept up towards four-year highs after U.S. congressional leaders reached a two-year budget deal to raise government spending by almost $300 billion.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan ticked up 0.3 percent, led by gains in India, though it remained not far off its six-week low touched on Tuesday.
· Japan’s Nikkei share average rose on Thursday as buyers looked for bargains on shares which were beaten down heavily early in the week.
The Nikkei ended up 1.1 percent at 21,890.86 points, but has still lost nearly 6 percent so far this week.
· China stocks ended lower to post a third consecutive session of losses on Thursday, with the benchmark Shanghai index hitting a six-month low, even as data showed the country’s trade performance in January exceeded expectations.
Investors dumped blue chips, including energy and banking firms, as well as infrastructure and property companies.
At the close, the Shanghai Composite index was down 47.11 points or 1.42 percent at 3,262.15.
Reference: Reuters, CNBC
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