A look at the day ahead in European and global markets from Rae

Wee

With the Federal Reserve's policy meeting out of the way,

the central bank spotlight now turns to some of its European

counterparts - the Bank of England, the Swiss National Bank and

the Riksbank - with rate decisions due later today.

The BoE, at centre stage, is widely expected to keep rates

on hold as it monitors the economic impact of U.S. President

Donald Trump's tariff onslaught and the British government's

imminent tax hike for employers.

With UK inflation stuck stubbornly above its 2% target, the

BoE has cut borrowing costs by less than the European Central

Bank and the Fed since last summer, contributing to the

country's sluggish growth rate.

Ahead of that, investors will get UK wage data to chew on.

Expectations are for pay growth across the whole economy,

excluding bonuses, to have held steady at an annual 5.9% rate in

the three months to January.

The Riksbank is similarly expected to stand pat on rates on

Thursday, while economists see the SNB cutting its main policy

rate by a quarter percentage point and holding it there until at

least 2026.

Trump weighed in on Fed policy on Wednesday, saying the

central bank would be better off cutting rates "as U.S. tariffs

start to transition (ease!) their way into the economy", just

hours after it left rates unchanged.

Fed Chair Jerome Powell said the Trump administration's

initial policies, including extensive import tariffs, appear to

have tilted the U.S. economy towards slower growth and at least

temporarily higher inflation, even as policymakers still

projected two rate cuts this year.

Despite the risks to the U.S. economic outlook, investors

chose to latch on to the prospect of further Fed easing ahead,

sending stocks in Asia higher on Thursday.

Europe, meanwhile, looked set for a mixed open, with

EUROSTOXX 50 futures up 0.07% but FTSE futures

down 0.14%.

Geopolitics also remained prominent on investors' radar.

Israel's military said it intercepted a missile launched

from Yemen early on Thursday as hostilities with the Houthis

intensified. Trump has threatened to punish Iran over its

perceived support for the Yemeni militant group.

The escalation of tensions in the Middle East sent oil

prices higher on Thursday, with Brent crude futures up

0.55% and U.S. crude futures gaining 0.46%.

But capping those gains was the prospect of a return of

Russian supply to the market, after Ukrainian President

Volodymyr Zelenskiy said a halt to energy strikes in the war

with Russia could be established quickly.

Trump and Zelenskiy agreed on Wednesday to work together to

end Russia's war with Ukraine, in what the White House described

as a "fantastic" one-hour phone call.

Key developments that could influence markets on Thursday:

- Bank of England, Swiss National Bank, Riksbank policy

decisions

- UK wage data (January)