European bourses are expected to open mixed on Thursday morning after the U.S. Federal Reserve kept interest rates unchanged and investors react to a slew of earnings reports. The FTSE 100 is seen 7 points higher at 7,453; the German DAX is expected to open 18 points lower at12,282; and the French CAC is seen 1 point lower at 5,184. The Federal Reserve signaled Wednesday that it could be ready as soon as September to start steadily shrinking its holdings of more than $4 trillion in bonds. The U.S. central bank also maintained its benchmark lending rate and suggested it was on course to stick to its slow path of monetary tightening. On the earnings front, Deutsche Bank, Volkswagen, Diageo and Bayer were among the major companies reporting their latest figures on Thursday. Elsewhere, the U.K.'s International Trade Secretary Liam Fox continues his visit to Mexico as part of Britain's ongoing efforts to secure its trading future outside of the European Union. Meanwhile, stocks were broadly positive in Asia after the Fed supported market sentiment by indicating interest rate hikes would be lower for longer than some had expected. Source: CNBC
