While investors focus on the region's banking sector and the publication of new inflation data, stock markets are anticipated to begin Thursday with a little gain.

While investors focus on the region's banking sector and the publication of new inflation data, European stock markets are anticipated to begin Thursday with a little gain.

As worries around the banking sector subsided, European stocks finished decisively higher on Wednesday, with gains from UBS driving the increase.

After hiring Sergio Ermotti to take over as CEO once more, the Swiss banking powerhouse increased its share price by nearly 3% as it works to absorb struggling rival Credit Suisse following its government-sponsored takeover.

Yet, investor focus has mainly shifted to the struggle central banks confront in trying to control relatively high levels of inflation as worries of a broad banking crisis have diminished.

Core PCE price index, the Fed's preferred measure of inflation, is scheduled to be released on Friday in the United States, but preliminary CPI data from Germany will be released first.

North Rhine Westphalia, the most populated German state, released its data earlier on Thursday. Its CPI increased 0.6% on the month and 6.9% on an annual basis in March.

This indicates a reduction in the increase from the 0.8% recorded the previous month and the annual 8.5%, and it raises the possibility that inflation in this crucial area is finally dropping.

Prior to Friday's official Eurozone CPI release, statistics on Spanish consumer prices, Italian producer prices, and consumer confidence are all expected to be released later on Thursday.

Thursday saw a little increase in oil prices, maintaining the week's upbeat trend following significant declines in U.S. crude supplies and interruptions to Kurdish oil exports.

According to official statistics from the U.S. Energy Information Administration, U.S. crude oil stocks decreased by 7.5 million barrels in the week ending March 24, the largest decrease since late November.

Moreover, delays in Kurdish oil shipments have reduced daily global oil supply by around 450,000 barrels, or 0.5%, tightening the market.

(Investing.com, Reuters.com)