BRUSSELS/FRANKFURT/PARIS (dpa-AFX) - European stocks may open on a sluggish
note Thursday as investors react to Facebook parent Meta Platforms'
disappointing Q2 revenue outlook and plans to spend nearly $100 billion this
year in its AI products.

Separately, computing giant IBM reported first quarter earnings ahead of
expectations, but sales came in slightly below expectations.

Microsoft, Intel and Google parent Alphabet will report results after the market
close later today amid much uncertainty what an AI-dominated future looks like.

Besides the earnings news, investors will watch closely U.S. reports on first
quarter GDP, weekly jobless claims and pending home sales due later in the day
for additional clues on the outlook for interest rates.

The U.S. Commerce Department is due to release a report on personal income and
spending later this week that includes readings on inflation said to be
preferred by the Fed.

Closer home, ECB commentary, German GfK consumer confidence numbers and French
business confidence survey results may influence trading sentiment as the day
progresses.

Asian stocks were broadly lower, with Japan's Nikkei down more than 2 percent as
the yen inched closed lower to the intervention point ahead of the BOJ policy
meeting.

The dollar held firm, gold was little changed and oil prices were seeing modest
gains ahead of the Fed meeting on April 30 to May 1, with the central bank
widely expected to keep rates unchanged.

U.S. stocks ended narrowly mixed overnight as investors awaited cues from
upcoming inflation and GDP data as well as mega-cap tech results.

In economic news, new orders for key U.S.-manufactured capital goods rose
moderately in March but the data for the prior month was revised lower, pointing
to weak business equipment spending in the first quarter.

The Dow inched down 0.1 percent, while the S&P 500 ended flat with a positive
bias and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite edged up 0.1 percent.

European stocks gave up early gains to end lower on Wednesday after ECB
policymaker and Bundesbank Chief Joachim Nagel said that a June interest rate
cut may not be necessarily followed by a series of rate cuts.

The pan European STOXX 600 declined 0.4 percent. The German DAX dipped 0.3
percent, France's CAC 40 eased 0.2 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 finished
marginally lower.



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