European stock markets start Thursday's trading session in the red on worries of further US rate hikes and China's faltering economy.

As concerns about China's faltering economy and the likelihood of rising U.S. interest rates rise, European stock markets start Thursday's trading day in the red.

The minutes of the Fed's July meeting revealed that a number of members continued to believe that more interest rate increases were necessary to address persistently high inflation levels, which might have a negative impact on the world's largest economy and a key driver of global development.

 "Most participants continued to see significant upside risks to inflation, which could require further tightening of monetary policy," according to minutes released on Wednesday in Washington.

In addition, an abundance of U.S. data that highlighted the robust economy was released before the July Fed meeting.

Over in Europe, the economic data release schedule is light, and June's trade balance for the eurozone is not expected to have a significant impact.

Amid concerns that weakening fuel demand in the two largest countries in the world as a result of slowing Chinese development and the Federal Reserve's persistent hawkish posture, oil prices declined Thursday, falling to two-week lows.

The EIA data also revealed that U.S. output touched a new three-year high last week, approaching to the record-high levels generated before the COVID-19 breakout in 2020. As a result, these worries have offset a larger-than-expected depletion in U.S. stockpiles.

(Sources: investing.com, reuters.com)