European stock markets are anticipated to open higher on Thursday as ECB meeting looms.

As investors analyse remarks made by Fed Chair Jerome Powell ahead of the most recent European Central Bank meeting, European stock markets are anticipated to open higher on Thursday.

As was predicted, the U.S. Federal Reserve increased interest rates on Wednesday by a quarter of a percentage point. This was the central bank's 11th rate hike in the previous 12 meetings.

Although Fed Chair Jerome Powell left the door open for a second hike later in the year, there is rising optimism that this is the final rate hike of the cycle.

Powell also mentioned that the U.S. economy is no longer expected to enter a recession, which raises the prospect of a so-called "soft landing" for the biggest economy in the world and a key driver of global growth.

Now the focus shifts to the European Central Bank, which will likely probably increase interest rates later in the day by a quarter of a percentage point.

The spotlight will be on President Christine Lagarde's ensuing news conference for hints on what will happen later in the summer because a raise is already highly anticipated.

With the annual CPI in the eurozone at 5.5% in June, inflation is still high, but growth is moderating and recent council member remarks have tended to be more dovish.

Even as the Fed once again tightened monetary policy, oil prices increased on Thursday, recovering from the previous session's losses as traders concentrated on prospects of tighter supply from significant oil producers.

Recently, intentions to significantly reduce output in August were made public by both Saudi Arabia and Russia in an effort to raise prices by limiting the global supply.

After reports revealed that U.S. crude stocks decreased less than anticipated and the U.S. central bank hiked interest rates again, oil prices dropped on Wednesday.

(Sources: investing.com, reuters.com)