European shares were set to open weaker on Thursday, rattled by a hefty sell-off in government bonds and firm oil prices, while the dollar hit a two-month low after Japan's prime minister said foreign reserves needed to diversify.
Results from heavyweight companies including retailer Carrefour, utilities E.ON and Suez, media group Vivendi and financial group Fortis are in the spotlight. Luxury goods giant LVMH reported an 11 percent rise in 2004 operating profit after the close on Wednesday.
On the economic front, the Bank of England is due to announce its decision on interest rates, but no change is expected from its current rate of 4.75 percent.
Spread betters in London are calling the FTSE 100 , Cac-40 , and Dax indexes between 28 and 41 points lower following a weaker close on Wall Street.
The FTSEurofirst 300 index of leading European shares ended at a one-week low on Wednesday.
U.S. stocks closed lower as rising crude prices and a spike in bond yields fuelled concerns about profit margins.
U.S. Treasuries tumbled on technical related selling and concerns about inflation. Benchmark U.S. 10-year yields were trading at around 4.55 percent, while comparable 10-year euro zone government bonds yielded 3.76 percent.