European stocks may open in the red on Thursday as the dollar marked more than three-year lows amid renewed worries over Donald Trump's America First policies and other protectionist measures like tax cuts.
U.S. Treasury secretary Steven Mnuchin said a weak dollar helps U.S. trade, further weighing on the currency.
Investors also look ahead to the ECB meeting later today for clues to whether the central bank would continue stimulus measures at least through September.
Traders will be keeping a close eye on the wording of the forward guidance after policymakers agreed in December to 'revisit' it early this year.
In economic releases, Germany's GfK consumer confidence data as well as Ifo business confidence survey results are slated for release later in the day.
Norges Bank announces the outcome of its monetary policy meeting, with economists expecting the bank to hold its key rate at 0.50 percent.
Asian stock markets are broadly lower on concerns about the Trump administration's protectionist stance.
Gold held flat while oil prices hit their highest level since December, 2014 on data showing a drop in U.S. crude inventories.
Overnight, U.S. stocks ended mixed as a decline in technology stocks and disappointing housing data offset better-than-expected quarterly results from the likes of Abbott Laboratories, United Technologies and Comcast.
The Dow rose 0.2 percent to reach a fresh record closing high while the tech-heavy Nasdaq dropped 0.6 percent and the S&P 500 slipped 0.1 percent.
European markets ended Wednesday's session notably lower as a rise in the euro and the pound pressured shares of European exporters.
The pan-European Stoxx Europe 600 index shed half a percent. France's CAC 40 index fell 0.7 percent while the German DAX and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 both lost 1.1 percent.
by RTT Staff Writer
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