London - European markets came off their early lows on Thursday after Wall Street opened steady ahead of a spate of new earnings reports, traders said.
After starting the session in negative territory, the main European stock markets at least partially clawed back some of their losses later in the day.
They managed to find some support from the steady opening on Wall Street, where investors were awaiting a volley of corporate earnings reports and economic indicators, said analysts at brokerage Charles Schwab in a note to investors.
In Frankfurt, the European Central Bank held its key interest rates unchanged at historic lows and its massive bond-buying programme intact, as expected, at its regular policy meeting.
"The euro and equity markets have had a strong week so far, thanks mainly to a market-friendly outcome of the French first round presidential election at the weekend," said Forex.com analyst Fawad Razaqzada.
"The stock markets in Europe also sighed relief as fears about the future of the European Union receded."
Financial markets appear to be taking in their stride the outlines of President Donald Trump's tax cut proposals and plans to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement, said Briefing.com analyst Patrick O'Hare.
On Wednesday, the White House had unveiled plans to slash corporate and individual rates, but there were few details and several questions over how the measures will be paid for.
The proposals are part of a wide-ranging plan to fire the world's top economy, which also includes ramping up infrastructure spending and wiping away business regulations.
London Capital Group analyst Jasper Lawler said that while Trump was set to mark his 100th day in office on Saturday, the fact that the president "hasn't checked off every box on his 100-day to-do list is not a reason to panic".
Lawler said: "From a markets standpoint, very few of Trump's pledges for the first 100 days really matter. Markets specifically want Trump to get the job done on tax cuts, infrastructure spending and deregulation. Significant policy overhauls can't happen in 100 days."
Earlier in Asia, Tokyo stocks fell 0.2% after a four-day rally, with dealers unmoved by the Bank of Japan's decision to lower its inflation target and stand pat on its monetary easing programme.
But Hong Kong climbed 0.5% for a sixth-straight gain, while Sydney added 0.2% and Shanghai ended 0.4% higher.