European stock markets are expected to open higher before German inflation and US GDP. The Eurostoxx 50 opened at 3,734.64 points (+0.36%), the CAC 40 at 6,445.26 points (+0.48%), the DAX 40 at 13,793.94 points (+0.27%), the FTSE 100 at  7,425.61 points (+0.53%), the SMI              12,051.48 points (+0.99%) the DJIA at 33,301.93 points (+0.19%), the Nasdaq at 12,488.93 points (-0.01%), the S&P 500 at 4,183.96 points (+0.21%) and the Nikkei 225 at 26,785.02 points (+1.51%).
On the exchange rate side, the change from the close in New York indicates that EUR/USD opened at 1.0528 (-0.30%), EUR/JPY at 136.58 (+0.72%) and USD/JPY at 129.73 (+1.02%).
Quarterly corporate publications were once again the focus of attention on Thursday in France, with results from Sanofi, TotalEnergies, Imerys, TF1 and Coface. Before the publication of its results, TotalEnergies warned Wednesday evening that it had provisioned an amount of $ 4.1 billion in its accounts for the first quarter in connection with its liquefied natural gas project Arctic LNG 2 in Russia. This decision is the consequence of the sanctions adopted by the European Union against Moscow. Pernod Ricard, Thales, Capgemini, Klépierre, Saint Gobain, Accor, Eramet, Wendel and Seb published their revenues for the period from January to March. Kering, Axa, Bouygues, Eurazeo and Mercialys bring their shareholders together at a general meeting.
In addition, Crédit Agricole SA (CASA) announced on Wednesday evening the signing of a contract for the total sale of its 78.7% stake in crédit du Maroc to the Moroccan group Holmarcom. The divestment will have a positive impact of approximately 10 basis points on Crédit Agricole SA's CET1 hard capital ratio, the group said in a statement.
 European equity markets are expected to open higher on Thursday, a day marked by numerous quarterly corporate releases from both sides of the Atlantic, Germany's inflation figures in April and the first estimate of U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) in the first quarter. Around 7:40 a.m., the CAC 40 futures contract gained 30 points, or 0.5%, according to data from broker IG Markets. The contract on the DAX 40 was up 78 points, or 0.6%, and the FTSE 100 contract was up 17 points, or 0.2%.
For its part, German inflation may have stabilized somewhat in April, with economists expecting consumer prices to rise 7.2% year-on-year, following a 7.3% increase in March. Among the most anticipated results of the day are those of the American technology groups Apple, Amazon, Intel and Twitter, which Elon Musk, the chief executive of Tesla and the richest man in the world, seeks to buy for about $ 44 billion. On Wednesday, Wall Street ended broadly higher, erasing some of the heavy losses suffered the day before. The Dow Jones Index (DJIA) gained 0.2% to 33,301.93 points. The broader S&P 500 index rose 0.2% to 4,183 points. The tech-rich Nasdaq Composite ended virtually unchanged at 12,488.93 points.
In Asia, the Bank of Japan on Thursday once again showed its determination not to let interest rates rise in Japan, despite rising inflation. Japan's central bank said it would buy ten-year Japanese government bonds at a rate of 0.25% every working day to ensure their yield does not exceed that level. It has already intervened on the market in April to preserve this ceiling,  and the BOJ has kept the rate on short-term deposits at -0.1% and the target for the yield on Japanese ten-year government bonds around zero. After this decision, the Nikkei index gained 1.5% on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng won 0.5%. In China, however, the Shanghai Composite lost 0.5%
U.S. Treasury yields fell slightly on Thursday morning, after posting their biggest rise in nearly a week the day before.
The dollar is trading sharply higher on Thursday against other major currencies, including the euro and the yen, and the DXY dollar index is at levels not seen since February 2017. The yen is trading even at its lowest levels since April 2002 against the greenback after the Bank of Japan's announcements. According to Rabobank, the dollar could remain buoyant for an extended period of time, as investor demand for safe havens increases due to fears of slowing global economic growth.
Oil contracts fell on Thursday, after closing higher the day before, supported by a sharp decline in gasoline and distillate inventories in the United States. Analysts continue to assess risks to energy supply after Moscow cut off Poland and Bulgaria's access to Russian gas on Wednesday. Around 7:30 a.m., the June contract for North Sea Brent fell $1.41, or 1.3%, to $103.91 a barrel, while the same-maturity contract for light sweet crude (WTI) listed on the Nymex lost $1.39, or 1.4%, to $100.63 a barrel.