European Stocks Seen Little Changed In Pre-holiday Trade

(RTTNews) - European stocks are seen opening flat to slightly higher on Thursday after a strong rally the previous day. Many markets will open for half the trading session while the German market will remain closed all the day. Trading activity is likely to be somewhat subdued due to the early close on Christmas Eve. U.S. stock markets will also have a shortened session today and stay closed on Friday.

The economic calendar remains light today, with investors awaiting U.K. mortgage approvals data, U.S. weekly jobless claims figures and the U.S. oil rig count data for further direction.

Asian stocks were mostly higher in pre-holiday trade, although Chinese shares succumbed to selling pressure after China Insurance Regulatory Commission tightened rules for insurers investing in listed firms.

Crude futures extended gains for a fourth straight session after a large drop in U.S. crude inventories. Gold edged higher following a two-day slide amid broad dollar weakness.

U.S. stocks rose for the third straight session overnight as oil prices rallied to a two-week high, Nike's earnings topped estimates and a slew of data on consumer spending, personal income, new home sales and consumer sentiment painted a positive picture of the economy. The Dow climbed 1.1 percent, the tech-heavy Nasdaq rose 0.9 percent and the S&P 500 advanced 1.2 percent.

The European markets also ended Wednesday's session with strong gains, led by energy and material stocks after OPEC said it expects oil prices to recover to $70 a barrel by 2020. The German DAX and France's CAC 40 both jumped around 2.3 percent, while the U.K.'s FTSE 100 soared 2.6 percent.