European Shares Seen Broadly Higher At Open

(RTTNews) - European stocks look set to open broadly higher on Thursday after U.S. President Donald Trump said Iran has stayed executions of protesters, signaling he may hold off on attacking the country for now.

Meanwhile, Danish foreign minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen said that discussions at the White House with U.S. vice-president J.D. Vance and secretary of state Marco Rubio were "frank but constructive", stressing that any proposal undermining Danish sovereignty or Greenland's right to self-determination was "totally unacceptable".

U.S. control of Greenland is "vital" for the country's planned Golden Dome air and missile defense system, Trump said in a social media post.

Elsewhere, the U.S. Senate on Wednesday voted against a resolution that was aimed at curbing President Donald Trump's authority to launch strikes on Venezuela.

Vice President JD Vance cast the tie-breaking vote on a point of order that halted the war powers resolution.

U.S. stock futures were marginally lower as focus shifts to earnings. Following negative reactions to JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, Bank of America and Citigroup, investment banks Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley along with alternative asset manager BlackRock are due to unveil their earnings later today.

The U.S. Supreme Court has again postponed a ruling on Trump's global tariffs on Wednesday, prolonging uncertainty for markets.

Asian markets were broadly lower after the Trump administration imposed targeted tariffs on advanced AI chips while permitting restricted Nvidia exports to China.

In another development, Chinese authorities have reportedly instructed domestic companies to halt the use of cybersecurity software from over a dozen U.S. and Israeli firms, citing national security concerns.

Gold dipped below $4,600 an ounce after surging to records in the previous session. The dollar index held steady near a one-month high it touched on Wednesday on upbeat retail sales data and Fed Beige Book survey results.

Oil prices fell for the first time in six days, with WTI crude futures tumbling more than 3 percent after Trump comments on Iran.

Overnight, U.S. stocks ended lower to extend losses from the previous session as bank earnings proved to be a mixed bag and geopolitical tensions intensified.

In economic news, U.S. retail sales increased more than expected in November, producer prices picked up slightly in the month and existing home sales accelerated in December while the current account deficit saw a significant drop in the third quarter, a slew of reports showed.

The Fed's Beige Book showed that overall economic activity was increasing at a "slight to moderate" pace in most parts of the country.

Traders also reacted to statements from Federal Reserve officials, including Anna Paulson, Neel Kashkari and Raphael Bostic.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite lost 1 percent, the S&P 500 shed half a percent and the Dow finished marginally lower.

European stocks ended mixed on Wednesday as investors assessed earnings updates from major U.S. lenders and monitored the latest developments on the geopolitical front.

The pan European Stoxx 600 rose 0.2 percent. The German DAX dropped half a percent and France's CAC 40 slipped 0.2 percent while the U.K.'s FTSE 100 added half a percent.