European Shares Seen Higher At Open

European stocks are seen opening flat to slightly higher on Thursday after U.S. President Joe Biden outlined a $2.3 trillion plan to overhaul and upgrade the nation’s infrastructure over the next eight years in what he billed as “a once in a generation investment in America.”

That said, trading activity may be somewhat subdued ahead of the holiday weekend.

Good Friday starts the Easter weekend in countries including the U.S., U.K., France, Germany, Australia and Canada.

Asian markets are moving higher as regional surveys showed Asia’s factories stepped up production last month.

The dollar held near multi-month highs against other major currencies amid bets that fiscal stimulus and aggressive vaccinations will help the United States lead a global pandemic recovery.

In economic releases, China’s manufacturing sector growth moderated in March suggesting that the post-epidemic recovery was continuing to falter, survey results from IHS Markit showed earlier today.

The Caixin factory Purchasing Managers’ Index fell to 50.6 in March from 50.9 in the previous month. This was the lowest reading since April 2020.

Factory Purchasing Managers’ survey data from euro area and other major European economies are due later in the session, headlining a busy day for the European economic news.

Across the Atlantic, reports on weekly jobless claims, manufacturing activity and construction spending may attract attention.

The Labor Department is scheduled to release its more closely watched monthly jobs report on Friday, which includes both public and private sector jobs.

Economists currently expect employment to jump by 639,000 jobs in March after an increase of 379,000 jobs in February. The unemployment rate is expected to drop to 6.0 percent from 6.2 percent.

U.S. stocks rose broadly overnight as a report from payroll processor ADP showed strong private sector job growth in March and investors looked forward to details of President Joe Biden’s massive infrastructure and economic recovery plan.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite jumped 1.5 percent and the S&P 500 added 0.4 percent while the Dow slid 0.3 percent.

European stocks fell on Wednesday as worries about climbing bond yields and rising coronavirus infections overshadowed some fairly good economic data from the region.

The pan European Stoxx 600 eased 0.2 percent. The German DAX ended little changed with a negative bias, France’s CAC 40 index dipped 0.3 percent and the U.K.’s FTSE 100 lost 0.9 percent.

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