The German DAX index was trading 0.1% down at 03:55 Eastern Time (08:55 GMT). On the other hand, the French CAC 40 index likewise had a 0.4% decline. The U.K.’s FTSE 100 index similarly saw a 0.1% decline.

Corporate Earnings in Flow

Two days after the midterm elections, the political atmosphere in the United States was tense. Although Senate control is in question, Republicans are very close to a majority in the House.

The market has become more risk-averse due to Binance’s decision to back out of saving FTX. As a result, the smaller company is in danger of failing. Nevertheless, corporate earnings were still flowing quarterly in Europe.

ArcelorMittal’s (AS: M.T.) stock price dropped by 0.5%. This came after the third-quarter profits of the world’s second-largest steelmaker were down. High energy costs and a fall in demand were reasons for the decline in profitability.

The stock price of Haleon, previously known as GSK’s consumer health unit, rose by 0.9%. After improving its sales projection in its first quarterly report as a stand-alone organization, this was the case.

Likewise, the stock of AstraZeneca (LON: AZN) increased by 1.4%. This came after the pharmaceutical behemoth raised its annual income forecast, citing good results in the third quarter.

Credit Agricole’s (EPA: CAGR) stock fell by 4.8%. This came after the French bank reported lower-than-expected third-quarter revenue. At asset manager Amundi, withdrawals led to the drop (EPA: AMUN).

Zurich Insurance’s (SIX: ZURN) stock price decreased by 1.2%. This came after the business predicted that Hurricane Ian would cause a net loss of $550 million before taxes.

The Focus Is on The U.S. Inflation Numbers

There aren’t many data points available for Europe on Thursday, so the focus will primarily be on U.S. inflation numbers. Economists predict that the annual headline rate will drop 8%, the lowest since February.

The trend toward falling oil prices resumed on Thursday. Fears about China, the world’s largest importer, increasing COVID restrictions as case volume rises are causing it to continue to decline. Additionally, rising U.S. crude oil stockpiles harmed the market.

On November 9, Guangzhou’s municipal government reported more than 2,000 additional cases. This is the third day that the level of cases has been on the rise. Guangzhou is considered a prominent industrial hub. Local cases in China reached their most significant number since April 30 at the same time.

Over the previous week, crude oil stockpiles in the United States rose by 3.9 million barrels. Energy Information Administration data showed this on Wednesday. In addition, the number of barrels stored has increased to a new peak not seen since July 2021.

The 3.5-million-barrel Strategic Petroleum Reserves depletion may be the reason for the majority of this increase.

As of 03:55 E.T., the price of U.S. crude futures was $85.38 a barrel, down 0.5%. While this was happening, the cost of Brent dropped 0.4% to $92.33 per barrel.

Brent prices have dropped more than 6% since the start of the week. WTI prices have decreased by more than 7%, on the other hand.

In addition, gold futures saw a 0.2% decline, reaching $1,711.20 per ounce. In the same time frame, EUR/USD decreased by 0.2% to 0.9994.