Equity markets are expected to open lower pending ECB announcements. The Eurostoxx 50 opens at 4,177.15 points down 1.13%, the CAC 40 at 6,668.89 points (-0.85%), the DAX 30 at 15,610.28 points (-1.47%), the FTSE 100 at 7,095.53 points (-0.75%), the SMI at 12,215.14 points (-1.05%), the AEX at 789.00 points (-0.72%), the BEL 20 at 4,229.81 points (-1.51%), the IBEX 35 at 8,838.70 points (-0.63%), the DJIA at 35,031.07 points (-0.20%), the Nasdaq at 15,286.64 points (-0.57%), the S&P 500 at 4,514.07 points (-0.13%) and the Nikkei 225 at 29,948.87 points with a decline of 0.77%.

As regarding the exchange rate, the change from the close in New York indicates that EUR/USD opens at 1.1812 down 0.05%, EUR/JPY at 130.13 (-0.14%) and USD/JPY  at 110.17 down 0.09%.

Eutelsat announced on Wednesday evening that it has completed the acquisition of a stake in the British company OneWeb, which is developing a high-speed Internet access service covering areas not served by land links. In line with the deal unveiled in April, the satellite operator has invested $550 million in OneWeb, becoming one of the company's largest shareholders alongside the British state and India's Bharti Global. The French initially planned to take 24% of OneWeb, but the calls for funds made in the meantime by the latter will finally place it at the head of 17.6% of the capital, said the group in a statement.

European equity markets are expected to open lower on Thursday, with investors nervous ahead of the European Central Bank's (ECB) announcements. Around 7:30 a.m., the CAC 40 futures contract was down 44 points, or 0.7%, according to data from broker IG Markets. The DAX contract lost 82 points, or 0.5%, and the FTSE 100 contract gave up 61 points, or 0.9%. The ECB will publish its monetary policy decision at 1.45 p.m. The statement will be followed, from 2.30 p.m., by a press conference by President Christine Lagarde, who will unveil the new growth and inflation forecasts of the ECB teams.

In the United States, economic growth slowed in July and August to a "moderate pace", said Wednesday evening the Federal Reserve (Fed) in its Beige Book. Fears about the spread of the delta variant of the coronavirus have caused a decrease in travel and dining out over the summer, according to this report on the state of the U.S. economy compiled ahead of the next central bank meeting. Against this backdrop, Wall Street ended lower on Wednesday. The Dow Jones Index (DJIA) lost 0.2% to 35,031.07 points, and the broader S&P 500 index fell 0.1% to 4,514.07 points. The Nasdaq Composite gave up 0.6% to 15,286.64 points, ending a streak of three consecutive records. In Asia, the main indices are trading in the red on Thursday. At the end of the session, the Nikkei index was down 0.7% in Tokyo, while the Hang Seng of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange gave up 1.8%.

The Shanghai Composite Index was up 0.1%. China's producer prices rose in August at their highest pace in 13 years, supported by soaring prices for coal, chemicals and steel, the National Bureau of Statistics said Thursday. The producer price index rose 9.5 percent year-on-year in August, an acceleration from the 9 percent rise in July, according to the Bureau of Statistics. Economists polled by the Wall Street Journal expected the index to rise 9%.

US Treasury yields continue to decline Thursday morning after the release of the Fed's Beige Book. At 7:35 a.m., the rate on the ten-year Treasury bill, the market's benchmark stock, stood at 1.331%, against 1.344% on Wednesday night. While some strategists consider the report lackluster, several economists have suggested that data on business conditions in the 12 regions covered by the Fed would not match the "substantial additional progress" expected by the central bank to begin withdrawing its support measures for the economy.

The euro shows a slight decline against the dollar on Thursday before the ECB meeting. According to Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA), the ECB will not explicitly change its monetary policy but could signal a reduction in the pace of asset purchases under the PEPP. CBA also expects the ECB to raise its growth and inflation forecasts, while any comments on the transitory nature of the recent acceleration in inflation will be closely monitored.

Oil contracts change little Thursday morning. At 7:25 a.m., the November Contract for North Sea Brent gained 12 cents to $72.72 a barrel. The October contract for light sweet crude (WTI) listed on the Nymex was up 2 cents, at $69.32 a barrel.