{"id":69283,"date":"2026-01-29T05:38:27","date_gmt":"2026-01-29T05:38:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pantheregroup.com\/2026\/01\/29\/european-shares-seen-broadly-higher-at-open-4\/"},"modified":"2026-01-29T05:38:27","modified_gmt":"2026-01-29T05:38:27","slug":"european-shares-seen-broadly-higher-at-open-4","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pantheregroup.com\/2026\/01\/29\/european-shares-seen-broadly-higher-at-open-4\/","title":{"rendered":"European Shares Seen Broadly Higher At Open"},"content":{"rendered":"
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European stocks are seen opening mostly higher on Thursday after the U.S. Federal Reserve delivered pretty much what the market had expected in the first interest-rate decision of 2026.<\/p>\n

The U.S. central bank kept interest rates on hold in a split decision and signaled little urgency to resume cuts amid still-elevated inflation alongside solid economic growth.<\/p>\n

In his closely monitored press conference, Fed Chair Jerome Powell emphasized keeping politics<\/span> away from Fed decisions, as inflation remains above target levels.<\/p>\n

Traders will also react to earnings from several big-name tech companies announced after the close of U.S. trading Wednesday. <\/p>\n

Tesla earnings and sales fell less than expected in Q4. Meta earnings topped Q4 views, but the company guided up on capital expenditures.<\/p>\n

Microsoft posted slower cloud-computing growth and said spending surged to a record high in the last three months of 2025, prompting renewed doubts about the strength of the AI-driven rally.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, with options traders turning overwhelmingly negative towards the dollar, markets<\/span> are concerned about the impact it will place on the European Central Bank. <\/p>\n

On Wednesday, ECB officials flagged growing concerns over the euro’s ascent to its strongest level since 2021, warning that it could drag inflation down and guide monetary policy “in the months ahead.”<\/p>\n

On the geopolitical front, U.S.-Iran tensions escalated as U.S. President Trump revived a threat that the United States is ready to launch a military attack against Iran.<\/p>\n

Iran said it remains open to dialogue “based on mutual respect” but warned it will respond “like never before” if provoked. <\/p>\n

Asian markets were mixed, recovering some ground after a sluggish start. Gold surged more than 2 percent to another record high above $5,500 an ounce as the dollar looked vulnerable despite verbal support from both U.S. and European officials.<\/p>\n

In an interview with U.S. broadcaster CNBC, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the U.S. has a strong dollar policy and that means setting the right fundamentals.<\/p>\n

Oil prices extended their recent rally, rising more than 1 percent in Asian trade after Trump warned Iran to make a nuclear deal with the U.S. or face military strikes far worse than the attack he ordered last June.<\/p>\n

Overnight, U.S. stocks ended narrowly mixed. While the S&P 500 finished marginally lower, the Dow closed flat with a positive bias and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite added 0.2 percent.<\/p>\n

European stocks ended firmly in the red on Wednesday as the Fed decision and a slew of tech sector results loomed.<\/p>\n

The pan European Stoxx 600 fell 0.8 percent. The German DAX dipped 0.3 percent, France’s CAC 40 tumbled 1.1 percent and the U.K.’s FTSE 100 shed half a percent. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n