European markets set for modest gains as global stocks search for new highs

LONDON — European stocks are set for a higher open on Thursday as global markets search for new record highs to close out the year.

Britain’s FTSE 100 is seen around 25 points higher at 7,750, Germany’s DAX is set to gain around 42 points to 16,784 and France’s CAC 40 is expected to add around 25 points to 7,597, according to IG data.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 index closed the Wednesday session up around 0.3% at the 478.62 mark, not far below the index’s record closing high of 483.44 notched in November 2021.

Stateside, U.S. stock futures were little changed in early premarket trade after another day of modest gains on Wall Street, with the S&P 500 benchmark also closing in on a record high.

Shares in Asia-Pacific were mostly higher overnight, with markets in mainland China and Hong Kong leading gains and Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 hovering near a two-year high. Japan’s Nikkei 225 and Topix bucked the trend to post slight declines.

Trading volumes are expected to be thin during the last two days of the trading year, with fewer data points on the economic calendar and all major central bank meetings out of the way.

Subscribe to CNBC PRO for exclusive insights and analysis, and live business day programming from around the world.