European stocks open a little higher after Powell's comments yesterday and focus on German, UK and US manufacturing PMIs.

As risk appetite soars following Fed Chair Jerome Powell's indication that the U.S. central bank may scale back the pace of its interest rate increases later this month, European stock markets open a little higher and US stocks open flat on Thursday.

The U.S. Federal Reserve in particular, along with other major central banks, have been raising interest rates sharply for months in an effort to contain inflation that has reached historic highs.

The most recent inflation figures, however, indicated that price increases might have peaked, giving the Fed opportunity to slow down its monetary tightening.

An annual figure of 10% is still five times higher than the central bank's aim, but Wednesday's November CPI announcement revealed a larger-than-anticipated decline in the Eurozone, supporting the case for a slowdown in rate hikes later this month.

As some cities in the second-largest economy in the world lifted regional lockdowns despite infections continuing at high levels, confidence that China was relaxing its stance on COVID-19 restrictions helped in the sentiment boost.

As consumers grappled with rising energy prices, retail sales in Germany fell 2.8% in October, a 5% annual decline. Manufacturing PMI figures for the Eurozone as a whole are expected to show the sector continuing to fall in November.

A three-day surge in crude oil prices came to a stop on Thursday as investors remained unsure of the implications of the OPEC+ summit this weekend for the future of the world's supply of crude oil.

The group reduced output by 2 million barrels per day last month, but oil prices have since declined to close to their lowest levels of the year.

The Energy Information Administration data indicated that U.S. stockpiles had decreased by more than 12 million barrels in the previous week, which was far more than had been anticipated. This news caused a strong increase in crude prices.

Key Developments Today:

• German Manufacturing PMI (09:00 GMT)
• UK Manufacturing PMI (09:30 GMT)
• US Core PCE Price Index (13:30 GMT)
• US Initial Jobless Claims (13:30 GMT)
• US ISM Manufacturing PMI (15:00 GMT)

(Sources: investing.com, reuters.com)