Share Market Live

NSE

European stocks opened higher on Thursday as markets digest minutes of the US Federal Reserve's July meeting.

The pan-European STOXX 600 was up 0.48 percent.

Earnings to watch

Key earnings were in focus for investors on Thursday. Swiss food giant Nestle said first-half organic sales grew 3.5 percent, missing analyst expectations amid continued challenges in China.

Meanwhile Raiffeisen Bank International said its second quarter net profit came in at 96 million euros (USD 108.6 million), missing market expectations.

Kingfisher, the owner of B&Q in the U.K., said second-quarter like-for-like sales were up 3 percent and said that the Brexit vote had led to "no clear evidence of an impact on demand so far",

Fed rate hike in focus

In the US, stocks closed mostly higher on Wednesday as investors assessed the latest minutes from the Fed for more clues on the trajectory of interest rates.

Some voting Federal Reserve policymakers expect that a US interest rate increase will be required soon although there is general agreement that more data are needed before such a move, according to the minutes from the Fed's July policy meeting.

On Tuesday, New York Fed President William Dudley said a rate hike could come next month. Meanwhile, Atlanta Fed President Dennis Lockhart said the US economy is strong enough to withstand at least one increase this year.

Meanwhile in Asia on Wednesday, Japanese shares dropped on Thursday morning in an otherwise positive Asian trading session, as a stronger yen weighed on sentiment. Data showed that Japan's exports fell 14 percent on-year in July, the worst drop in seven years, but in line with expectations, while imports declined 24.7 percent, missing a Reuters forecast for a 20.6 percent decline.

Oil prices dipped in early trading on Thursday as the prospect of record Saudi output weighed on markets and as traders cashed in on profits following an almost uninterrupted price rally this month of nearly 20 percent.