European markets are subdued as concern about the global economy dominates sentiment.

By mid-morning, the pan-European Stoxx 600 was down 0.2%, with telecoms down 1.2% and oil and gas stocks up 0.8%.

The Federal Reserve of the United States is likely to raise interest rates by 50 basis points next week. While this would be a lower rise than recent rate hikes, investors are growing anxious about the central bank's ability to avoid a recession in its attempt to combat inflation next year.

US stock futures were marginally lower on Thursday morning, following the S&P 500's fifth consecutive day of losses, as Wall Street assessed the risk of a decline.

Overnight, sentiment in the Asia-Pacific area became more volatile. The Hang Seng index in Hong Kong rose more than 3% on Thursday after a local news outlet claimed that the city is considering further lowering Covid restrictions, including as dropping its outside mask rule and relaxing required testing for arrivals. Meanwhile, the majority of the region's other markets fell slightly into the red.