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Western stock markets are gradually coming out of the gloom<\/strong>, following the gradual end of restrictions in China, particularly in Beijing and Shanghai<\/strong>. However, investors’ attention will soon be focused on the European Central Bank meeting on Thursday and the publication of a U.S. price index on Friday.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n European stock markets ended higher yesterday, following the Asian markets, “boosted by the easing of restrictions<\/em>” anti-Covid in China, “which for more than two months had been an obstacle to the mood of the markets,<\/em>” says Michael Hewson<\/strong>, analyst at CMC Markets<\/strong>. This Tuesday morning, the Asian markets did not move much: the Chinese stock exchanges opened slightly lower and the Tokyo stock exchange was progressing moderately, facing a new fall of the yen.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n On Monday, Paris<\/strong> rose 0.98%, Frankfurt<\/strong> 1.34%, Milan<\/strong> 1.65% and London<\/strong> gained 1% after the Queen of England’s<\/strong> Golden Jubilee celebrations.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n In New York, the Dow Jones<\/strong> gained 0.05%, the technology-heavy Nasdaq index gained 0.40%, and the broader S&P 500 index gained 0.31%. “The enthusiasm to buy has calmed down<\/em>” over the session, commented analysts at Briefing.com<\/strong>, cutting Wall Street in its momentum.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n But this lull may be short-lived because the real focus of the markets is expected later this week: Thursday and Friday with “a key meeting of the European Central Bank and a key indicator measuring inflation in the United States<\/em>“, the consumer price index (CPI), says Neil Wilson<\/strong>, analyst at Markets.com<\/strong>.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Since March, the U.S. central bank<\/strong> has been gradually raising policy rates in an effort to slow demand from consumers and businesses, thereby helping to curb soaring prices.<\/strong> On Friday, strong U.S. labor market data dashed hopes that the Fed would pause its rate hikes.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n For its part, the European Central Bank<\/strong> (ECB) preferred not to rush to tighten monetary conditions in the Eurozone<\/strong>, despite facing a boom in inflation that reached 8.1% year-on-year in May.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n At its next meeting on Thursday, the ECB is expected to decide to stop its net debt purchases, which have so far supported markets with abundant liquidity.<\/p>\n <\/p>\nTwo important meetings<\/h2>\n