European equity markets should be reluctant to open. The Eurostoxx 50 opens at 4,284.83 points (-0.63%), the CAC 40 at 7,161.52 points (-0.27%), the DAX 40 at 15,852.25 points (-0.70% ), the FTSE 100 at 7,420.69 points (+0.66%), the SMI at 12,926.56 points (-0.34%), the AEX at 796.12 points (-0.60%), the BEL 20 at 4,298.83 points (-0.11%), IBEX 35 at 8,673.70 points (-0.17%), DJIA at 36,488.63 points (+0.25%), Nasdaq at 15,766.22 points (-0.10%), the S&P 500 at 4,793.06 points (+0.14%), the Nikkei 225 at 28,791.71 points (-0.40%).

Regarding exchange rates, the change from the close in New York indicates that EUR/USD opens at 1.1329 (-0.19%), EUR/JPY at 130.38 (-0.09%) and USD/JPY at 115.09 (+0.10%).

European equity markets are expected to be little changed at the open on Thursday, as trading tapers off as the year-end approaches and major indices are near all-time highs. At 7:35 a.m., the CAC 40 futures contract gained 11 points, or 0.15%, according to data from broker IG Markets. The DAX 40 contract was up 20 points, or 0.1%, and the FTSE 100 contract was down 3.6 points, or 0.05%. In addition to the health situation, investors will follow the weekly unemployment claims figures in the United States on Thursday. Economists polled by the Wall Street Journal anticipate 205,000 new jobless claims for the week ending Dec. 25, unchanged from the previous week.

Wall Street closed mostly up on Wednesday, allowing the Dow Jones (DJIA) and S&P 500 indices to set new records. Rising to a historic high for the 45th time since the start of the year, the DJIA gained 0.3% to 36,488.63 points. The broader S&P 500 index rose 0.1% to 4,793.06 points. The Nasdaq Composite, on the other hand, fell 0.1% to 15,766.22 points. In Asia, the main indices are moving in dispersed order on Thursday. In Tokyo, the Nikkei index ended down 0.4%. The Hong Kong Stock Exchange's Hang Seng index also lost 0.4% at the end of the session, while the Shanghai Composite gained 0.7%.

Yields on long-term US Treasury bonds rose to their highest level in about a month, as investors perceived only a limited impact from the Omicron variant for the economy. Studies suggest that this variant causes milder symptoms than previous strains of Covid-19. Thursday at 7:35 a.m., the yield on the ten-year bond, the market benchmark, fell to 1.544%, against 1.557% on Wednesday evening.

The euro fell 0.2% Thursday morning to 1.1325 dollars. According to Trading Central's technical analysis, the Euro/Dollar pair has intraday upside potential up to 1.1370. The pair continues to trend higher while being supported by the ascending 20-day moving average. The RSI ("Relative Strength Index"), an indicator to measure market momentum, remains well oriented near 70, which indicates the continuation of the bullish momentum of the pair. If the euro crosses the level of 1.370 dollar, the high of Wednesday, it will then target the threshold of 1.1390. The main support ("trailing key support") has been raised at 1.1320.

Oil prices hesitate on Thursday, as the announcement of a reduction in crude inventories in the United States signals that demand is more robust than expected despite the disruption caused by the Omicron variant on commercial and tourist activities. At 7:25 a.m., the March contract on Brent North Sea crude sold 3 cents, at 79.18 dollars a barrel. The Nymex-listed light sweet crude (WTI) February contract was unchanged at $76.56 a barrel.