Mega-tech earnings remain in the spotlight on Thursday, particularly after the Bank of Japan's as-expected decision to hold policy steady failed to give the market any new trading cues.Alphabet kept the momentum going by beating profit and revenue estimates on strength in YouTube ad sales and its cloud business.
AI fever has driven Wall Street - and by extension many global equity markets - to all-time peaks this year, so any signs of weakness in the rally's foundation are sure to shake markets.)'s 10% plunge overnight on disappointing AI chip sales, dragging down shares of no less than Nvidia, among other chipmaking peers.)'s international banking conference in Madrid hosts such speakers as Bank of Spain Governor Jose Luis Escriva and Dutch central bank governor Klaas Knot.
Euro-area and country-specific inflation figures are due later in the day, along with German retail sales. The Bank of Japan again highlighted risks from the U.S. economy in abstaining from raising rates today, although policymakers expressed confidence they could continue to normalise policy in due course.