European stock markets are anticipated to begin Thursday with little change. Investors await further information on U.S. debt ceiling as well as statements from Lagarde.

As investors await further information on the possibility of an agreement to raise the U.S. debt ceiling as well as statements from ECB president Christine Lagarde, European stock markets are anticipated to begin Thursday with little change.

Investors were encouraged by the apparent desire of President Joe Biden and senior U.S. congressional Republican Kevin McCarthy to achieve an agreement fast, with Biden cutting short his Asia trip to return to negotiations on Sunday.

The Treasury warned that it may run out of money by early June, potentially resulting in a first-ever default, and the drama has been playing out for weeks. The government officially reached the $31.4 trillion threshold in January.

Europe's data cupboard is essentially empty today, therefore the day's attention will be primarily focused on a speech by ECB President Christine Lagarde.

Investors will be watching for signs of future action after the ECB boosted interest rates earlier this month, extending its protracted campaign of monetary tightening against inflation.

Furthermore, companies like EasyJet, Burberry, BT Group, and National Grid are all scheduled to report quarterly profits.

On Wednesday, crude prices rallied by more than 3% on hopes that a deal to raise the US debt ceiling would soon be achieved. This optimism came on top of reports that US petrol stockpiles had fallen as demand surged to its highest levels since 2021. But then declined again early Thursday, giving up some of the significant gains made the previous day.

(investing.com, reuters.com)