(fxcue news) - European stocks may open on a cautious note Thursday on concerns the U.S. is facing an imminent recession. New data showed on Wednesday that U.S. job growth during much of the past year was significantly weaker than initially estimated, raising concerns the world's largest economy is slowing and the Fed has waited too long to cut interest rates. After July Fed meeting minutes removed all doubt about a September rate cut, reports on weekly jobless claims and existing home sales as well as remarks by Fed officials at the Jackson Hole Economic Symposium may now influence market expectations regarding the quantum of the rate cut. Financial markets currently anticipate significant policy easing, potentially including multiple cuts by year-end. China-EU tensions may also remain on investors' radar after China launched an anti-subsidy investigation into dairy imports from the European Union, targeting several dairy products. The European economic calendar remains light, with flash PMI readings likely to attract some attention before the ECB meeting next month. Asian markets were fluctuating as traders braced for Fed Chair Jerome Powell's upcoming keynote speech at the Kansas City Fed's Jackson Hole economic symposium. Fed's dovish stance weighed on the dollar, which traded near the lowest in more than a year against the euro and sterling. Gold dipped from recent record highs and oil extended losses after U.S. President Joe Biden, in a phone call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday, stressed the urgent need to conclude a Gaza ceasefire-for-hostages deal. U.S. stocks eked out modest gains overnight as the July FOMC minutes reinforced hopes of a 25-bps rata cut during the September meeting if data continued to come in as expected. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite climbed 0.6 percent, the S&P 500 added 0.4 percent and the Dow edged up 0.1 percent. European stocks closed broadly higher on Wednesday, thanks largely to gains in the mining sector. The pan European STOXX 600 gained 0.3 percent. The German DAX and France's CAC 40 both rose by half a percent while the U.K.'s FTSE 100 inched up 0.1 percent.