European Shares Set to Slip, Rate Cuts Awaited

European shares were set to open lower on Thursday, tracking sharp declines in U.S. and Japanese markets, with concerns about the economy resurfacing after U.S. election euphoria.

Financial bookmakers expected Britain's FTSE 100 to open down 113 to 124 points, or as much as 2.7 percent, Germany's DAX to open 158 to 171 points lower, or as much as 3.3 percent, and France's CAC-40 to fall 106 to 131 points, or as much as 3.6 percent.

Investors will await interest rate verdicts from the European Central Bank and the Bank of England later in the day. Both central banks are widely expected to cut rates to stimulate growth.

Britain's economy shrank 0.5 percent in the three months to October, and lower interest rates are unlikely to help boost growth, the National Institute of Economic and Social Research said.

The FTSEurofirst 300 of leading European shares closed 2.2 percent lower on Wednesday, snapping a six-session winning streak. U.S. stocks plummeted after Barack Obama's historic victory in the presidential election, as a fresh batch of dismal economic data painted a gloomy picture.

Sentiment was also down after Cisco Systems, a technology bellwether, said after the close of regular trading that fallout from the United States' economic problems had now spread to key markets abroad and its revenue could fall as much as 10 percent in the current quarter.

In Asia, Japan's Nikkei slipped 6.5 percent. partnership in a wind farm project with a subsidiary of Goldwind Science & Technology, Goldwind said on Thursday.

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