BRUSSELS/FRANKFURT/PARIS (dpa-AFX) - European stocks may open on a positive note Thursday as markets bet on more interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve.
Trading volumes, however, are likely to remain thin amid the Independence Day holiday in the U.S.
Asian markets are seeing modest gains as weak U.S. data pointing to slowing growth in the world's largest economy bolstered the prospects of rate cuts by the Federal Reserve.
A report from payroll processor ADP showed U.S. private sector job growth reaccelerated in the month of June but still fell below forecasts.
The U.S. trade deficit widened by more than anticipated in May and there was a notable slowdown in the pace of service sector growth, adding to the optimism about a rate cut.
The Labor Department's closely watched monthly jobs report is due on Friday. U.S. employment is expected to increase by 160,000 jobs in June after an increase of 75,000 jobs in May. The jobless rate is expected to hold at 3.6 percent.
Closer home, Eurostat will release euro area retail sales for May later in the day. Sales are forecast to grow 0.4 percent month on month, reversing a 0.4 percent drop in April.
The dollar remains on the back foot and gold held steady after hitting a one-week high the previous day, while oil prices fell after the Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported a set of bearish U.S. crude inventories data.
Overnight, U.S. stocks hit record highs on expectations of Fed cutting interest rates at its July 30-31 meeting.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.7 percent, while the S&P 500 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite gained around 0.8 percent.
European markets also gained ground on Wednesday on expectations that Lagarde would embrace dovish policy as the ECB's new chief.
The pan European Stoxx 600 climbed 0.9 percent. The German DAX and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 both climbed around 0.7 percent while France's CAC 40 index gained 0.8 percent.
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