Europe markets seen higher as UK voting begins, ECB in focus

Markets in Europe are on track to open higher Thursday morning as politics and monetary policy take center stage.

The FTSE 100 is seen higher by 3 points at 7,467; the CAC 40 in France is set to start up by 12 points at 5,273 and the German DAX is expected to open higher by 29 points at 12,688.

Voters in the U.K. will be heading to polling stations, choosing the country’s next Parliament. Polls on the eve of the election indicated that Prime Minister Theresa May will win the vote and increase her parliamentary majority.

In the last hours of the campaign, she refocused her speech towards Brexit, moving on from the debate over security that took over since a terrorist attack last Saturday.

Meanwhile, policymakers at the European Central Bank are set to discuss the future of monetary policy in the 19-member bloc. Expectations are that they will carry on with their large monetary stimulus. However, they will also receive updated economic forecasts. Some media reports suggest the ECB will cut inflation outlooks through 2019 and raise gross domestic product projections. The euro was trading slightly higher against the dollar, at $1.1256.

Investors will also be looking at the U.S. where former FBI Director James Comey will testify in the Senate after being fired by President Donald Trump over an investigation into Russia’s alleged interference in the 2016 election. The testimony begins at 3 p.m. London time.

In commodity markets, oil prices rose slightly on Thursday morning after heavy losses in the previous session. Data on Wednesday showed U.S. inventories increasing for the first time in ten weeks. Source: CNBC