Commerzbank in its "European Sunrise" note of Thursday highlighted:
Markets: United States Treasuries stabilized in the late New York session, edged higher in Asia. German two-year Schatz gapped higher. Equities were up, led by the Nikkei, on hopes of an Iran war ceasefire extension. The euro (EUR) was stable around $1.181. Brent was above US$96/barrel.
Fed: Beige Book showed most districts saw slight to modest growth and moderate price increases. Chicago Federal Reserve President Austan Goolsbee says the Fed faces "a little bit of danger" on two fronts, the oil price rise and the tariff impact. St. Louis Federal Reserve President Alberto Musalem says rates are likely on hold for some time.
Iran war: The U.S. is seeking a "grand bargain" with Iran, offering sanctions relief and support for civilian nuclear or energy program in exchange for Iran ending uranium enrichment and cutting support for militant groups (Telegraph). Iran mulls allowing free passage through the Oman side of the Strait of Hormuz (Reuters).
Israel: Ceasefire between Israel and Hizbollah expected within the week, given U.S. pressure (FT).
==EUROPE:
ECB: European Central Bank officials are leaning towards holding rates steady at the April meeting (Bloomberg sources). Governing Council (GC) member Isabel Schnabel says the ECB can afford to take time to analyze the Iran war shock; Schnabel doesn't want to impose an unnecessary cost on the economy. GC member Francois Villeroy de Galhau says focus on April would be premature, ECB should avoid knee-jerk adjustments to policy. Madis Muller says the ECB may not have all the data to determine if rates need to be raised this month. GC member Joachim Nagel says the April move hinges on the Strait of Hormuz situation; he won't exclude anything for April.
BoE: Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey says he is in no rush to raise rates.
==ASIA:
China: Gross domestic product growth increased to 5.0% year over year in Q1, higher than the 4.8% consensus.