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STOXX 600 SLIDES AT THE OPEN (0734 GMT)
European indexes are lower in early trade with all the sectors in the red, following on from Thursday's Wall Street rout.
The pan-European STOXX 600 is off 1.3%, Germany's DAX is down 1.8%, France's CAC is falling 1.8% and Britain's FTSE 100 is lower by 1.2%.
There are few bright spots, although home repair services firm HomeServe is up around 11% after the company agreed to be bought by Canada's Brookfield Asset Management for around $5 billion.
Shares in France's Orpea are dropping heavily for a second consecutive day as a new media report pointed to financial irregularities at the company's Swiss unit.
Here's your snapshot at the open:
(Samuel Indyk)
WHICH EARNINGS TO THE RESCUE? (0644 GMT)
Traders have sold the latest rally, and savagely, tipping world equities back on the brink of confirming a bear market pattern. And the fear behind the rout is that the support which strong earnings have provided so far against pressure from rising rates is starting to dwindle.
Big-box retailers on Wall Street showed the world how painful inflation and supply chain problems can be, while adding to concerns that the American consumer who powers the world's top economy might not be in as strong shape as thought. That sent investors rushing for the exit.
The S&P 500 fell 4% in its biggest drop since June 2020 as retail giant Target tanked 25% after warning of a bigger margin hit due to rising fuel and freight costs. The day before rival Walmart trimmed its profit forecast.
The sour mood spilled over to Asia and Europe too looks set to extend Wednesday's losses, although the safe-haven dollar eased and riskier currencies like the Aussie jumped as Shanghai set out plans to end a COVID lockdown.
Meantime, early signs of "capitulation" among retail traders have emerged, according to Vanda Research, which cited put option trading near record highs and Charles Schwab net assets suffering outflows for the first time since 2020.
Against this backdrop energy and commodities feature amongst the rare safe harbours. Brent crude is rising 1% back above $110, and Europe's energy index struck a fresh three-year high on Wednesday, escaping the stock market battering.
Key developments that should provide more direction to markets on Thursday:
EUROPE SET FOR SOFT START AFTER WALL STREET SELL-OFF (0630 GMT)
European equity futures are pointing to a lower open on Thursday, a day after a steep sell-off on Wall Street saw the S&P 500 have its worst day since June 2020.
The market mood was soured after Target warned of a large margin hit due to rising costs. Shares in the U.S. retail giant lost almost a quarter of their value.
The selling looks set to spill over into Europe with Eurostoxx 50 futures down 0.9%, DAX futures lower by 1.0% and FTSE futures off 0.7%.
Traders in Europe will today be keeping an eye out for the accounts from the ECB's April meeting, which may help provide some clarity on the central bank's plans to begin hiking interest rates.
(Samuel Indyk)