The Arc De Triomphe stands while automobiles travel on the Avenue des Champs-Elysees as skyscrapers sit on the city skyline in the La Defense business district in Paris, France.
Christophe Morin | Bloomberg | Getty Images
LONDON — European stocks was marginally higher on Thursday morning, as regional markets continue to see-saw this week.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 index edged 0.1% higher 8:47 a.m. London time (3:47 a.m. ET), with major bourses trading in negative territory.
The U.K.’s FTSE index was 0.2% lower within the first hour of the opening bell, Germany’s DAX 0.2% lower, France’s CAC 40 down around 0.1% and Italy’s FTSE MIB also sat almost 0.1% lower. Most sectors were also in the red.
It’s been a choppy week for European markets with bourses touching a two-week low on Tuesday but trading higher on Wednesday, with luxury brands driving gains.
France’s CAC 40 was up 2% at the closing bell on Wednesday — marking its biggest daily gain since May — with investors closely monitoring Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu’s new government after he pledged to suspend a controversial pension reform until after the 2027 election, one of the signature economic policies of President Emmanuel Macron.
Monthly data on U.K. growth may dampen spirits further as figures from the Office for National Statistics, released on Thursday, showed the British economy expanded by a meager 0.1% in August.
U.K. borrowing costs were last seen little changed, with the benchmark 10-year yield stood at 4.549% as traders responded to the economic data.
Meanwhile, the British pound was up almost 0.2% against the U.S. dollar, trading at $1.3422.
The Swiss government slashed its 2026 growth forecast to 0.9% as U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs weighed on Switzerland’s export-heavy economy.
IMF and World Bank annual meetings
U.S. stock futures were little changed Wednesday night after strong bank earnings shifted investor focus from risks both at home and abroad. The U.S. government shutdown heads into its third week and escalating trade tensions with China persist.
Meanwhile Asia Pacifics markets rose overnight, with South Korea’s Kospi index hitting a record high after the International Monetary Fund raised the country’s 2025 growth forecast to 0.9% from 0.8% in its October outlook report.
CNBC has more coverage of the latest IMF/World Bank meetings in Washington this week, with interviews coming up with Austrian National Bank Governor Martin Kocher and Eurogroup President Paschal Donohoe on Thursday.
We’ll also be broadcasting our interviews with Joachim Nagel, president of the Bundesbank, François Villeroy de Galhau, governor of the Bank of France and National Bank of Belgium Governor Pierre Wunsch.
We also spoke to Poland’s Finance Minister Andrzej Domański and his Spanish counterpart, Carlos Cuerpo. Here’s a clip:
— CNBC’s Nur Hikmah Md Ali and Pia Singh contributed to this market report.
