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European shares are called to open the trading day lower as markets remain cautious ahead of interest rate decisions from the European Central Bank and the Bank of England.
The FTSE 100 is seen lower by 9 points, Germany’s DAX is called down by 21 points and the CAC 40is expected to open lower by 9 points.
The ECB is widely expected to cut interest rates to a record low of 0.75 percent in an attempt to ease the euro zone debt crisis and offer some cover for the increasingly dire economic data out of the bloc.
With an equally dire economic outlook in the UK expectations are high for further monetary stimulus by the Bank of England as it attempts to stave off a deepening recession.
It is expected that the third round of quantitative easing will inject 50 billion pounds ($78 billion) into the economy adding to the 325 billion pounds that has already been injected into the economy.
British lawmakers will vote later Thursday on the type of inquiry that should be held in the wake of the Libor-rigging scandal that has decimated the board of British bank Barclaysat the epicenter of the scandal. Ex-CEO Bob Diamond , so far the most high-profile scalp in the crisis, appeared in front of a parliamentary committee for three hours on Wednesday.
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