Visitors and electronic screens displaying Japan's Nikkei stock quotation board are reflected on window glasses as the share average surged past an all-time record high scaled in December 1989, inside a building in Tokyo, Japan February 22, 2024. REUTERS/Issei Kato/File PhotoLONDON :Major European equity markets were lower on Thursday after a raft of corporate earnings in the U.S. and Europe, while prospects of upcoming policy easing in the United States boosted global bonds.
"Disappointing set of results, slowing growth for industrials, Chinese consumers no longer there to rescue demand and a possible resurgence of inflation. You have a not so pleasant cocktail." Japan's Nikkei, however, tumbled 2.5 per cent as a sharp jump in the yen clouded the outlook for exporters. "It's early but the fact we haven't really seen the rally continue suggests that markets may be trying to catch some breath before tomorrow's payrolls report."