BRUSSELS/FRANKFURT/PARIS (dpa-AFX) - European stocks are likely to open on a
positive note Thursday after declining the previous day on worries about French
politics.

The Bank of England (BoE) and the Swiss National Bank (SNB) are scheduled to
make their monetary policy announcements later today.

The SNB surprised markets with a cut in March and markets are positioning for
another rate cut. The BoE is set to hold interest rates despite the U.K.
headline inflation reaching its 2 percent target.

Norway's central bank will also announce its rate decision today and is widely
expected to hold interest rates at 4.5 percent.

ECB commentary, German producer price figures and the release of Eurozone flash
consumer confidence indicator along with U.S. reports on weekly jobless claims
and housing starts may sway sentiment as the day progresses.

Asian markets were mostly lower as China left benchmark lending rates unchanged
at a monthly fixing.

Treasury yields ticked up following a rise in their European peers.

The dollar was a tad higher, and gold rose towards $2,350 per ounce while oil
prices were mixed ahead of the release of weekly inventory data from the U.S.
Energy Information Administration that may show another rise in nationwide crude
inventories.

The U.S. markets were closed on Wednesday for the Juneteenth holiday.

European stocks closed broadly lower on Wednesday after the European Commission
reprimanded France for breaching the EU's budget rules. The pan European STOXX
600 dipped 0.2 percent after two days of gains.

The German DAX shed 0.4 percent and France's CAC 40 gave up 0.8 percent while
the U.K.'s FTSE 100 edged up 0.2 percent after the release of encouraging
inflation and house price data.



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