European markets are open to close as traders look forward to earnings season

Shares of Swedish health and hygiene products company Essity and home appliance maker Electrolux fell more than 8% in early trade after missing second-quarter earnings forecasts.

And on top of the Stoxx 600 index, shares of the British pharmaceutical company Hikma rose 7%.

– Elliot Smith

German producer prices rose 0.1% year-on-year in June, the Federal Statistics Office said on Thursday, slightly beating analysts’ expectations of no annual change.

Britain’s FTSE 100 is expected to gain about 2 points at 7590, Germany’s DAX is expected to open about 2 points lower at 16107, and France’s CAC 40 is set to add about 5 points to 7332.

– Elliott Smith

China’s major state-owned banks were seen selling dollars to buy yuan in the offshore spot market in early trading on Thursday. Reuters reported.

Citing two people “with direct knowledge of the matter,” Reuters said one of the sources also revealed that such moves aim to slow the pace of the yuan’s decline.

The external yuan is up 0.66% in the afternoon, trading at 7.1839 per dollar.

Goldman Sachs mentioned Chinese stocks that it says are likely to benefit from developments in generative AI — and two are on the bank’s damning list of Buy-rated names.

In two research notes dated July 16, Goldman provided an overview of the opportunities and risks created by generative AI and selected stocks that would likely benefit.

CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.

– Lucy Handley

Shares of ASML have surged this year amid buzz around semiconductor and artificial intelligence companies — its Netherlands-listed shares have jumped about 32% in the year so far, while its US-listed shares are up about 40%.

But it faces a number of risks, including tensions between the United States and China.

Where will the arrow go from here? CNBC Pro dug into Wall Street research to find out.

CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.

– Wizen tan