European equity markets are expected to open higher pending the ECB. The Eurostoxx 50 opened at 4,026.68 points with an increase of 1.78%, the CAC 40 at 6,464.48 points (+1.85%), the DAX 30 at 15,422.50 points (+1.36%), the FTSE 100 at 6,998.28 points (+1.70%), the SMI at 12,021.58 points (+0.64%), the AEX at 733.74 points (+1.62%), the BEL 20  at  4,200.05 points (+1.96%), the IBEX 35 at 8,567.00 points (+2.50%), the DJIA at 34,798.00 points (+0.83%), the Nasdaq at 14,631.95 points (+0.92%), the S&P 500 at 4,358.69 points (+0.82%) and the Nikkei 225  at 27,548.00 points up 0.58%.

On the foreign exchange market, the variation from the close in New York indicates that EUR/USD opens at 1.1800 with a rise of 0.04% while EUR/JPY shows 129.97 (-0.09%) and USD/JPY down 0.14% to 110.15.

European equity markets are expected to continue their rebound on Thursday, but their progress could be limited ahead of the European Central Bank's (ECB) monetary policy decision. At 7:40 a.m., the CAC 40 futures contract was up 27 points, or 0.4%, according to data from broker IG Markets. The DAX 30 contract gained 45 points, or 0.3%, and the FTSE 100 contract rose 10 points, or 0.15%. After the new monetary policy strategy unveiled earlier this month, economists believe the ECB will be accommodative for a long time. It is not expected to change its rates or the volume of its asset purchase programmes this month, but it should adapt its forward guidance to its new symmetric inflation target of 2%. Any indication of the evolution of asset purchases under the Pandemic Emergency Purchase Programme (PEPP), which is scheduled to end in March 2022, will also be monitored.

In the United States, Senate Republicans blocked an attempt to start a debate on the infrastructure plan still under negotiation, but lawmakers hope to reach a final agreement by early next week. Wall Street ended higher on Wednesday, continuing its rebound from the previous day after strong quarterly results overshadowed concerns about the spread of the delta variant of the coronavirus. The Dow Jones Index (DJIA) gained 1.6% to 34,797.74 points in closing, and the broader S&P 500 index rose 0.8% to 4,358.65 points. The Nasdaq Composite rose 0.9% to 14,631.95 points. In Asia, major markets are recovering on Thursday. At the end of the session, the Shanghai Composite was up 0.3% and the Hang Seng was up 1.7% in Hong Kong. The Tokyo Stock Exchange is closed due to a public holiday in the country.

U.S. Treasury yields ended higher on Wednesday. The yield on the ten-year Treasury bill, the market's benchmark stock, stood at 1.292% at the close, compared with 1.224% on Tuesday night, regaining most of the ground lost at the beginning of the week. Markets are juggling the resurgence of Covid-19 cases and encouraging economic indicators, while the rebound in equities could reflect a decrease in concerns related to the Delta variant.

The euro moves little Thursday morning against the dollar. However, the single currency could retreat against the greenback if the ECB announces that it plans to maintain an accommodative monetary policy longer than anticipated, ING believes. The ECB's decision to raise its inflation target to 2%, against a previous target of inflation close to but below 2%, implies that the institution will continue what it has undertaken in recent years or move towards a more accommodative policy, ING analysts point out.

Oil contracts are down Thursday morning, after closing Wednesday up 4%, supported by weekly U.S. oil inventory figures, which showed a decline in Cushing, Oklahoma's reserves, to their lowest level since January 2020.    At 7:30 a.m., the September contract on North Sea Brent lost 38 cents, to $71.85 a barrel, and the contract of the same maturity on WTI fell 32 cents, to $69.98 a barrel.