European stock markets are expected to rise after the Fed's Beige Book. The Eurostoxx 50 opened at 3,896.81 points (+1.72%), the CAC 40 at 6,624.91 points (+1.38%), the DAX 40 at 14,362.03 points (+1.47%), the FTSE 100 at 7,629.22 points (+0.37%), the SMI at 12,310.17 points (+0.23%), the AEX at 725.61 points (+1.26%), the BEL 20 at 4,257.66 points (+1.13%), the IBEX 35 at 8,769.50 points (+0.87%), the DJIA at 35,160.79 points (+0.71%), the Nasdaq at 13,453.07 points (-1.22%), the S&P 500 at 4,459.45 points (-0.06%) and the Nikkei 225 at 27,521.67 points (+1.12%). 
On the exchange rate side, the change from the close in New York indicates that EUR/USD is at 1.0832 (-0.23%), EUR/JPY at 139.12 (+0.22%) and USD/JPY at 128.44 (+0.43%).
European equity markets are expected to open higher on Thursday, but their progress is expected to remain moderate given a mixed session on Wall Street and Asia. Around 7:30 a.m., the CAC 40 futures contract gained 23 points, or 0.3%, according to data from broker IG Markets. The DAX 40 contract was up 67 points, or 0.5%, and the FTSE 100 contract was up 21 points, or 0.3%.
Wall Street closed in scattered order on Wednesday, driven by the good results of IBM and Procter & Gamble, the Dow Jones Index (DJIA) gained 0.7%, to 35,160.79 points. The broader S&P 500 index fell less than 0.1% to 4,459.45 points. The Nasdaq Composite lost 1.2% to 13,453.07 points as the strong disappointment caused by Netflix's results weighed on the technology compartment. In Asia, markets presented a mixed picture on Thursday. The Nikkei index of the Tokyo Stock Exchange gained 1.2% at the end of the session. Meanwhile, the Hang Seng was down 1.1% in Hong Kong and the Shanghai Composite gave up 0.7%, penalized by the decline in their technology stocks after the nasdaq underperformed the day before.
The yield on the ten-year U.S. Treasury bond fell the most in nearly three weeks on Wednesday as buyers returned to the government bond market. It continued its decline Thursday morning, settling at 2.878% against 2.916% Wednesday night. More broadly, markets have adapted to the prospect of an interest rate hike by the US Federal Reserve.
The euro is falling against the dollar but is appreciating against the yen on Thursday. According to SPI Asset Management, the attention of the foreign exchange market is expected to focus on Thursday on the meeting between Japanese Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki and US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen. Currency coordination should be on the agenda of this meeting.
According to Commonwealth Bank of Australia, pressure in Europe to impose official sanctions on Russian oil is intensifying, adding to price sentiments, while the market continues to find support in the weekly 8 million barrel drop in U.S. crude supply. At 7:20 a.m., the June contract for North Sea Brent gained $1.27 to $108.07 a barrel, while the same maturity contract for Nymex-traded light sweet crude (WTI) was up $1.14 to $103.33 a barrel.