European equity markets were set to open slightly higher on Thursday as investors awaited the European Central Bank’s latest policy decision, with interest rates widely expected to be left unchanged. Attention will also focus on how policymakers address recent turbulence in France’s bond market and ongoing inflationary pressures linked to elevated energy costs. Investors are additionally looking ahead to a series of key data releases, including Spanish retail sales, Italian unemployment, and Eurozone economic sentiment indicators. On the corporate side, a busy earnings calendar features results from several major European companies, among them Linde, TotalEnergies, Banco Bilbao, Lloyds Banking Group, Société Générale, and STMicroelectronics. In premarket trading, futures on both the Euro Stoxx 50 and the Stoxx 600 were up around 0.1%, signaling a cautiously positive start for regional markets.