Stock Market News – data, earnings, U.S. jobless claims, coronavirus

LONDON — European stocks were modestly higher Thursday, as global markets jumped following reassuring comments from Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell on the inflation outlook.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 gained 0.4% in early trade, with basic resources adding 1.5% to lead gains while food and beverages slid 1.2% lower.

European markets are following their global counterparts higher; stocks in Asia-Pacific jumped in Thursday trade and U.S. stock index futures gained in overnight trading after the Dow Jones Industrial Average surged to a record closing high during trading hours Wednesday.

Rising interest rates weighed on stocks early in the session, as the U.S. 10-year Treasury yield topped 1.4% and hit its highest level since February 2020. But yields came off their highs after Jerome Powell continued to downplay the threat of inflation, saying it could take three years to reach the central bank’s target consistently.

In Wednesday’s testimony in front of the House Financial Services Committee, Powell said inflation could be volatile as the economy reopens and there’s increased demand. Still, the Fed chair does not expect inflation to run hot and said the central bank has tools to combat it if it should.

U.S. data releases will be watched carefully by global investors Thursday for more clues on the state of the American economy: initial jobless claims numbers will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET on Thursday, with economists surveyed by Dow Jones expecting a print of 845,000. Also at 8:30 a.m. ET the U.S. Department of Commerce will release its second estimate for fourth-quarter GDP.

A slew of European countries will release data on consumer and manufacturing confidence for February, including the Netherlands, France and Sweden.

It’s a busy day for earnings in Europe with the world’s largest brewer Anheuser-Busch InBev, Veolia, AXA, Bayer, Standard Chartered, Aston Martin, Telefonica and Adecco Group all reporting before the bell.

AB InBev forecast higher revenues in 2021, but also projected inflated costs and a possible hit to margins, sending the company’s stock 5% lower in early trade.

Standard Chartered reaffirmed its long-term profit targets and restored its dividend Thursday, though higher credit impairments due to the Covid-19 pandemic led to a 57% fall in annual profit for 2020, missing analysts’ expectations. The British lender’s stock fell 4.2%.

Italy’s Tenaris was the biggest mover, jumping 10% after initially failing to start trading following the steel pipe manufacturer’s bumper fourth-quarter earnings report.

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