European stocks look set to open on a buoyant note Thursday as investors react to dovish Fed remarks and look ahead to the Bank of England policy meeting.
The dollar tumbled from two-week highs, bond yields dipped, and gold rallied to a fresh record above $2200 as dovish Fed commentary bolstered expectations of a June rate cut.
After leaving interest rates unchanged for a fifth straight meeting, the Fed signaled on Thursday that the next move is likely to be a cut sometime this year, with three cuts seen in 2024.
Asian markets followed Wall Street higher, with Japan\'s Nikkei average climbing nearly 2 percent on expectations the Bank of Japan may hike interest rates in either July or October.
Oil prices rebounded after falling from multi-month highs in the previous session.
Looking ahead, the Bank of England is widely expected to keep interest rates unchanged at 5.25 percent later today, but economists are divided on when the first rate cut will come.
In economic releases, flash manufacturing PMI data from Germany, euro area and the U.K. along with U.S. reports on weekly jobless claims, leading economic indicators and existing home sales may garner investor attention later in the day.
U.S. stocks rose overnight while bond yields fell as the Fed left maintained its forecast for three rate cuts in 2024.
The S&P 500 added 0.9 percent to set a record high for a second straight day. The Dow rallied 1 percent and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite climbed 1.3 percent to hit record highs.
European stocks ended mixed on Wednesday as investors reacted to encouraging U.K. inflation data and looked ahead to the Fed\'s interest-rate decision.
The pan European STOXX 600 closed flat with a negative bias. The German DAX edged up 0.2 percent while France\'s CAC 40 shed half a percent and the U.K.\'s FTSE 100 finished marginally lower.