Stock markets are set to begin Thursday with a little gain as investors assess the most recent Federal Reserve minutes.

As investors assess the most recent Federal Reserve minutes in advance of significant Eurozone inflation data and further corporate results, European stock markets are set to begin Thursday with a little gain.

The DAX, the CAC 40, and the FTSE 100 have all experienced a difficult week so far due to worries that interest rates will need to rise further in order to battle inflation, which will stifle economic growth.

Later in the day, the final reading of the Eurozone's January CPI is due. It is predicted to show an increase from the previous month's 8.5% to 8.6% for the year. And that was prior to this month's surprise uptick in company activity.

The European Central Bank's head, Christine Lagarde, reiterated this week that the institution planned to increase borrowing prices by another half-point in the coming month, and more increases through the early summer were quite possible.

The Federal Reserve's most recent meeting's minutes, which were made public late on Wednesday, revealed that some decision-makers wished to pause the rate of interest rate increases in order to better interpret the incoming economic data.

Yet, it was before the surprising January employment data effectively put an end to rumours of a looming recession.

The benchmark range for the fed funds rate set by the U.S. central bank has increased from 4.5% to 4.75% to 5.25%-5.50% as predicted by Fed fund futures.

The European earnings season is still in full swing, with Deutsche Telekom's fourth-quarter earnings marginally above forecasts thanks to excellent results from T-Mobile US and user growth in Germany.

The largest hotel chain in Europe, Accor, reported "very good" performance in December, exceeding forecasts for its annual core profit.

Moreover, companies including WPP, Rolls-Royce, BAE Systems, Munich Re, and AXA are expected to report earnings.

On increased worries that higher interest rates may restrict economic activity and, therefore, fuel consumption, oil prices moved up on Thursday, finding some support after a protracted losing streak.

American Petroleum Institute statistics also revealed that U.S. oil stockpiles increased by roughly 10 million barrels last week, which caused market concerns about demand in the world's biggest consumer. Since mid-December, inventories have increased every week.

(Investing.com, Reuters.com)