European markets weighed as investors brace for ECB weakening

European markets had a muted opening Thursday morning in London, with the FTSE 100 retreating slightly at the opening bell.

The markets are weighed by rumors that the European Central Bank will withdraw its monetary stimulus measures due to rising inflation.

BHP Group (BHP.L) was among the biggest losers in FTSE, falling 4.8% at the start of trading as it was outbid on a nickel miner active in Canada’s highly promising Ring of Fire region. by billionaire Andrew Forrest.

Nickel is a key ingredient in lithium-ion batteries used in electric vehicles and for storing renewable energy – and the Ring of Fire region in northern Ontario is considered one of the largest untapped reserves of metal in Canada.

The FTSE 100 (^ FTSE) was trading almost flat at 8:30 am in London. Meanwhile, DAX (^ GDAXI) was up 0.1% and CAC (^ FCHI) was stable.

US equity futures also indicated a largely muted opening later. The S&P 500 (ES = F) and Dow (YM = F) futures were both trading flat, while the Nasdaq (NQ = F) looked set to open 0.1% higher.

The cautious measures follow Wednesday’s ADP jobs report, which showed that the recovery of the US labor market is taking longer than expected.

“As a result, investor sentiment was mixed in yesterday’s session, with the Nasdaq and S&P 500 rising as the Dow Jones fell,” said Naeem Aslam, chief market analyst at AvaTrade.

“It should be noted that the Nasdaq, the tech-savvy index, ended yesterday’s session at a record high as investors turned to defensive stocks.”

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Asian markets experienced a mixed close overnight. The Hang Seng (^ HSI) was flat, the SSE Composite (000001.SS) was up 0.7%, and the Nikkei (^ N225) was up 0.3%.

The cautious measures were compounded by fears that the Chinese government might decide to impose more crackdowns. Reuters reported that 11 rideshare companies have been called by the government to a meeting.

The story continues

“Another day, another crackdown,” said Jeffrey Halley, senior market analyst for Asia-Pacific at OANDA. “Falling buyers of Chinese equities will continue to put their feet down. However, I think we are still a long way from revaluing Chinese equities to a level that balances the government’s ‘enthusiasm’ for common prosperity.”

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