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

Westbrook

U.S. President Donald Trump signed a bill ending the longest

U.S. government shutdown on record with a late-night ceremony at

the Oval Office, following a planned dinner with Jamie Dimon and

top Wall Street executives.

It's unclear just how quickly full government services and

operations will resume.

Data publication is top of the agenda in markets, with

September's jobs report likely to be one of the first catch-up

indicators released and investors anticipating it might support

a rate cut, following soft figures in recent private surveys.

Some data gaps are likely to be permanent, however, with the

White House saying October's employment and Consumer Price Index

reports might never be released.

Stocks took a breather in Asia, with broad indexes drifting

higher and Japan's Topix hitting a record - following

records for the Dow, FTSE and pan-European STOXX

600 - an indication of a small rotation from AI.

Rising gold prices also took a pause.

Japan's yen, meanwhile, has been sliding close to

intervention territory. A brief blip above 155 per dollar on

Wednesday drew a finance ministry reminder that authorities were

watching closely.

It kept on the strong side of that level in Asia trade,

though it did sag to a record low of 179.49 per euro. Prime

Minister Sanae Takaichi wants rates to stay low and has asked

for close coordination with the Bank of Japan.

On Thursday, BOJ Governor Kazuo Ueda signalled his goals aligned

with the government's focus on reflating growth, telling

parliament he was aiming for moderate inflation accompanied by

wage rises.

In Australia, a surprise surge in October employment has markets

dialling back rate cut bets, while an ex-dividend fall in ANZ

Bank shares dragged down the index.

A slew of earnings is due from the close of trade in Asia

onwards, with Tencent ( TCTZF ) offering a possible read on

China's consumers and updates from China's SMIC

watched for an insight into U.S.-China technology tensions.

Results at German industrial giant Siemens will

show how it has been navigating tariffs and a patchy global

economy.

Key developments that could influence markets on Thursday:

* Earnings at Rakuten, Tencent ( TCTZF ), SMIC, Merck, Burberry,

Siemens,

Disney

* UK GDP