European equity markets expected lower after Wall Street downturn. The Eurostoxx 50 opens at 4,348.82 points (+0.10%), the CAC 40 at 7,045.16 points (+0.03%), the DAX 40 opens at 16,067.83 points (+0, 17%), the FTSE 100 at 7,340.15 points (+0.91%), the SMI at 12,401.40 points (+0.27%), the AEX at 814.63 points (-0.07%) , the BEL 20 at 4,380.69 points (-0.19%), the IBEX 35 at 9,141.80 points (+0.74%), the DJIA at 36,079.94 points (-0.66%), the Nasdaq at 15,622.71 points (-1.66%), the S&P 500 at 4,646.71 points (-0.82%) and the Nikkei 225 at 29,277.86 points (+0.59%).

Regarding exchange rates, the change from the close in New York indicates that EUR/USD opens at 1.1478 (-0.04%), EUR/JPY at 130.77 (+ 0.01%) and USD/JPY at 113.94 (+0.05%).

European equity markets are expected to trade mostly lower at the open on Thursday, in the wake of a pullback on Wall Street, as investors react to the growing likelihood of a hike in key rates from the Federal Reserve (Fed ) to combat soaring inflation. At 7:20 a.m., the CAC 40 futures contract lost 15.5 points, or 0.2%, according to data from broker IG Markets, while that on the DAX 40 fell 27.5 points, or 0.2% . The contract on the FTSE 100, on the other hand, gained 4.7 points, or 0.1%. The New York Stock Exchange ended sharply lower on Wednesday after the announcement of stronger than expected inflation in the United States in October, which caused tensions on bond yields. Consumer prices rose 6.2% year on year last month, the Labor Department said. Inflation in the country had not reached such a level for 31 years and proved to be higher than the consensus of economists (+5.9%). Excluding food and energy, price inflation came out at 4.6% year on year, well above the Federal Reserve's (Fed) target of 2%. In Asia, equity markets rose on Thursday. At the end of the session, the Shanghai Composite index gained 1% and the Hang Seng index of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange gained 0.2%. The Tokyo Stock Exchange's Nikkei index closed up 0.6%.

Yields on US Treasury bonds rose on Thursday morning, having already gained ground the previous day. The 10-year bond rate rose on Wednesday for its biggest rise in a year, while the two-year bond posted its biggest increase since March 2020 and the 30-year rate, its biggest rise in almost eight months. US bond markets are closed Thursday for Veterans Day.

The euro lost some ground on Thursday morning against the dollar but was unchanged against the yen. The greenback appreciates against the Japanese currency. Investors expect higher-than-expected US inflation to push the Fed to tighten monetary policy. The market now expects the federal funds rate to be 0.64% in December 2022, up from 0.58% previously, CBA says. Inflation in the United States is expected to stay higher than expected for longer than expected as households' long-term inflation expectations have increased significantly while wage growth is accelerating. Expectations for Fed rate hikes should increase over time, which will support the dollar, CBA adds.

Oil prices rose slightly on Thursday morning as the US government backed away from plans to tap into its strategic oil reserves, Commerzbank said. Oil futures fell on Wednesday, posting their first decline in four sessions, hurt by rising inventories of black gold in the United States and the strength of the dollar. As of 7:30 a.m., the January North Sea Brent contract was up 6 cents, at $82.70 a barrel. The December contract on Nymex-listed WTI was up 11 cents to $81.45 a barrel.