LIVE MARKETS-Before the bell: Central bank day in Europe, earnings rumble on

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BEFORE THE BELL: CENTRAL BANK DAY IN EUROPE, EARNINGS RUMBLE ON

European shares were set for a softer start on Thursday ahead of policy decisions in the region and as the earnings season rumbled on, although major benchmarks were at record levels even as several sectors have been hit by mounting AI-related concerns.

EuroSTOXX 50 .STOXX50E, DAX .GDAXI and FTSE .FTSE futures traded between flat and a fall of 0.3% around 30 minutes before the cash market open.

U.S. futures pointed to a 0.3% rise in the Nasdaq even after Google parent Alphabet’s GOOGL.O capex guidance overshot Wall Street expectations, weighing on its shares.

The European Central Bank and the Bank of England are both expected to leave interest rates unchanged later in the day.

Early European earnings highlights include:

Shell SHEL.L Q4 profit misses expectations at $3.3 billion

BNP Paribas BNPP.PA vows more cost cuts after profit tops forecasts

ArcelorMittal MT.LU posts higher‑than‑expected Q4 profit

Saab SAABb.ST raises medium‑term sales growth target to 22%

(Danilo Masoni)

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