European stock markets are seen opening mixed on Thursday

European stock markets are seen opening mixed Thursday, helped by strong gains on Wall Street after the Federal Reserve reiterated its support for the U.S. economy but weighed down by disappointing corporate news, particularly from the auto sector.

European stock markets

• DAX futures contract in Germany traded 0.4% lower.
• the FTSE 100 futures contract in the U.K. rose 0.3%, while CAC 40 futures in France climbed 0.3%.
• The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 0.6% higher.
• the Nasdaq Composite gained 1.4% and the S&P 500 added 1.2%, after the U.S.
• Federal Reserve kept its benchmark rate near zero and suggested rates would remain in this range for some time.

Commodities

• U.S. crude futures traded 0.1% lower at $41.22 a barrel.
• Te international benchmark Brent contract fell 0.1% to $44.06.
• Elsewhere, gold futures was flat at $1,953.40/oz, while EUR/USD traded at 1.1761, down 0.3%.

Currencies

In currencies, the biggest mover was the greenback.

The dollar (=USD) has been tumbling on expectations the Fed will continue its ultra loose monetary policy for years to come and on speculation it will allow inflation to run higher than it has previously indicated before raising interest rates.