European stocks are expected to rise, the PBOC lowers its rates further. The Eurostoxx 50 opens at 4,268.28 points (+0.25%), the CAC 40 at 7,172.98 points (+0.55%), the DAX 40 at 15,809.72 points (+0.24% ), the FTSE 100 at 7,589.66 points (+0.35%), the SMI at 12,525.69 points (-0.03%), the AEX at 772.56 points (+0.37%), the BEL 20 at 4,210.74 points (-0.22%), IBEX 35 at 8,774.90 points (-0.08%), DJIA at 35,028.65 points (-0.96%), Nasdaq at 14,340.26 points (-1.15%), the S&P 500 at 4,532.76 points (-0.97%) and the Nikkei 225 at 27,772.93 points (+1.11%).

Regarding the exchange rate, the variation compared to the close in New York indicates that EUR/USD at 1.1354 (+0.09%), EUR/JPY at 129.95 (+0 .21%) and USD/JPY at 114.46 (+0.10%).

Investors will follow this Thursday the figures for the business climate in January, as well as the auctions of assimilable bonds of the Treasury (OAT) and OAT indexed to inflation in France (OATi) and in the euro zone (OATei) planned by the France Treasury Agency (AFT). The latter account to issue between 10.75 billion and 12.25 billion euros of securities on this occasion.

The main European equity indices are expected to start Thursday's session higher, driven by a further drop in interest rates in China. At 7:35 a.m., the CAC 40 futures contract gained 33 points, or 0.5%, according to data from broker IG Markets. The contract on the DAX 40 gained 52 points, or 0.3%, and that on the FTSE 100 gained 42 points, or 0.6%. The People's Bank of China (PBOC) has lowered its benchmark interest rates for the second consecutive month, having already cut the rate on its one-year medium-term loan facility (MLF) and that on operations of "reverse repo" at seven days. These initiatives aim to support a flagging economy in the face of a new wave of Covid-19 and a series of regulatory constraints. The one-year Loan Prime Rate, the benchmark rate of the People's Bank of China (PBOC), was cut to 3.70% from 3.80% previously, the central bank said. The five-year Loan Prime Rate was lowered from 4.65% to 4.60%. The PBOC had not cut those two rates at the same time for 21 months. The rate cut announced Thursday had been widely anticipated by investors since the PBOC warned on Monday to lower its rates on the medium-term loan facility (MLF) to one year and reverse repo operations to seven days.

Wall Street closed in the red on Wednesday, failing to rebound despite stabilizing borrowing rates in the bond market. After its decline the day before, the Dow Jones index (DJIA) again lost 1%, to 35,028.65 points. The broader S&P 500 index also fell 1% to 4,532.76 points. Hurt by the rise in bond yields in recent days, the Nasdaq Composite, rich in technology stocks, ended down 1.2%, at 14,340.26 points. The Nasdaq is now down 10.5% since the all-time high set last November. A loss of more than 10% is considered a correction for a stock market index.

Yields on 10- and 30-year US Treasuries fell on Wednesday as investors favored sovereign debt at the expense of equities, victims of a large sell-off in the United States. During the previous session, yields on two- and ten-year bonds had risen to their highest levels in two years, buoyed by the possibility that the Federal Reserve will hike rates by 50 basis points in March.

The euro progressed Thursday morning against the dollar, but Bank of America estimates that the single currency should eventually give ground against the greenback due to persistent inflation in the United States and transitory in the euro zone. Around 7:35 a.m., the euro was trading at 1.1352 dollars.

Oil contract prices are little changed Thursday morning after closing at their highest level in more than seven years on Wednesday, due to lingering supply concerns. At 7:25 a.m., the March contract on Brent North Sea crude sold 7 cents, at 88.41 dollars a barrel. The same-maturity contract on light sweet crude (WTI) listed on the Nymex gained 9 cents, to 85.89 dollars a barrel.