European markets open in negative territory ahead of earnings, growth data and ECB decision

LONDON — European stocks opened little connected Thursday arsenic determination investors await much firm earnings, the latest maturation information and a European Central Bank complaint decision.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 fell astir 0.3% soon aft the opening bell, astatine 8:05 a.m. successful London (4:05 a.m. ET).

The U.K.'s FTSE 100 scale was 0.4% lower, France's CAC 40 was conscionable beneath the flatline and Italy's FTSE MIB astir 0.5% lower. Germany's DAX bucked the trend, trading 0.2% higher.

It's different engaged time for net connected Thursday with third-quarter results coming from TotalEnergies, ING Groep, Volkswagen, Crédit Agricole, Société Générale, Anheuser-Busch InBev, BBVA and Schneider Electric.

Shell shares dipped 0.2% aft the steadfast reported a important drop successful third-quarter nett but bushed expert expectations, citing a beardown operational performance. It posted adjusted net of $5.4 cardinal for the quarter, and announced different $3.5 cardinal successful stock buybacks implicit the adjacent 3 months, maintaining the gait of its shareholder returns.

Aerospace and defence institution Airbus, meanwhile, reported a beardown 3rd 4th precocious connected Wednesday amid Europe's unreserved to physique retired its defence capabilities. Its results came successful supra expert estimates, with gross jumping 14% to 17.8 cardinal euros ($23.5 billion) and operating nett up 42% astatine 1.75 cardinal euros. The figures were driven by an summation successful commercialized craft deliveries, currency hedging and its chopper services, the institution said. Its banal terms precocious 2.5% successful aboriginal dealmaking.

Data releases see flash euro portion 3rd 4th GDP (due astatine 10am London time) and unemployment figures, arsenic good arsenic ostentation information from Spain and Germany.

The European Central Bank is besides owed to denote its latest involvement complaint determination connected Thursday, though economists person branded it a "non event" fixed the slope is highly apt to support its cardinal involvement rate, the deposit installation rate, dependable astatine 2%.

Global markets were besides assessing the in-person gathering betwixt U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping successful Asia connected Thursday.

Trump said helium had reached a one-year statement with Xi connected uncommon earths and different captious minerals, and that Washington volition chopped fentanyl-related tariffs connected Beijing to 10% after their gathering successful South Korea.

Chinese and Hong Kong markets fell overnight, reversing earlier gains, aft the gathering concluded, portion different Asia-Pacific markets were mixed.

Investors were besides digesting comments from U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell. He indicated, astatine the extremity of the Fed's two-day argumentation gathering connected Wednesday, that a complaint chopped successful December was acold from a "foregone conclusion."

The Fed chopped the benchmark national funds complaint by 25 ground points, arsenic expected, to bring it to 3.75%-4%

U.S. banal futures moved lower connected Wednesday nighttime arsenic investors digested Powell's comments and a batch of Big Tech net from Alphabet, Meta and Microsoft.

– CNBC's Sam Meredith contributed to this report.