10 things you need to know before European markets open
The ECB offered Greek banks more emergency assistance. The European Central Bank has extended its liquidity program for Greek banks by two weeks, according to a Dow Jones report via CNBC. According to CNBC, it is a "a roughly €68 billion ($77.63 billion), two-week extension on emergency liquidity." That's up from €65 billion previously.
The Fed's minutes were dovish. The Minutes of the Federal Reserve's January meeting were just released and showed the Fed is inclined to keep rates near zero for longer. On its outlook for raising rates, the Minutes indicate that a number of FOMC members saw the risks as weighted towards raising rates too early, with at least one FOMC member recommending more not less monetary policy accommodation.
Japanese exports climbed by nearly a fifth in January. Japanese exports rose 17% in January from a year earlier for a fifth straight month of gains, Ministry of Finance data showed on Thursday, in a further sign of a pick-up in external demand. The result compared with an 11.9 percent increase expected by economists in a Reuters poll.
Fighting in eastern Ukraine is raging despite the ceasefire. Ukraine troops and pro-Russian rebels were engaged in combat inside the flashpoint town of Debaltseve on Tuesday, both sides said, in a significant blow to a fragile three-day-old ceasefire. It was the first time fighting has erupted on the streets of Debaltseve, which up until now had witnessed artillery exchanges between thousands of government troops holed up inside and heavily armed rebels encircling the town.
ECB minutes are coming out for the first time. The European Central Bank releases minutes of its January policy meeting today, its first ever record of the disccusion. It's a new effort towards transparency at the ECB, and should give some insight into the decision to engage in a bigger-than-expected QE programme in January. They're out at 1:30 p.m. GMT (8:30 a.m. ET).
Greece thinks its latest proposal will secure a deal from Europe. Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis said Wednesday Athens' formal request for a loan extension from the EU would meet the demands of both the Greeks and the Eurogroup. "We are on the right path, I am optimistic it will end well tomorrow or the next day," he told reporters in Athens.
Libya want the arms embargo against it lifted. Libya and Egypt asked the United Nations Security Council on Wednesday to lift an arms embargo on Libya, impose a naval blockade on areas not under government control and help build the country's army to tackle Islamic State and other militants.
Asian markets are up. Just ahead of the close, the Hang Seng in Hong Kong is up 0.19%, and the Shanghai Composite is up 0.76%. Japan's Nikkei, which is already closed, ended up 0.36%
Samsung is buying a mobile payments company. Samsung Electronics said it would buy mobile wallet provider LoopPay as it tries to gain a share in the mobile payments market, which its arch-rival Apple Inc recently entered with Apple Pay.
The US Labor Secretary is holding more talks to be get west coast ports working again. US Labor Secretary Tom Perez planned to hold a second round of talks with shipping company executives and union leaders for 20,000 dockworkers on Wednesday, seeking to broker a deal to end months of labor turmoil clogging cargo traffic at 29 West Coast ports.