A look at the day ahead in European and global markets from Vidya Ranganathan. Thursday's corporate calendar features a host of earnings reports that will shine further light on the health of the global consumer, as U.S. retailers Walmart (WMT.N), Bath & Body Works and Macy's (M.N) report earnings. Expectations for Walmart ride high after peer Target (TGT.N) surged by almost a fifth on Wednesday in the wake of its consensus-beating holiday sales forecast and upbeat view of its supply chain. Figures on Wednesday showed U.S. producer prices fell at their fastest pace since April 2020, and UK consumer inflation undershot all forecasts. Reuters GraphicsMeanwhile in Asia, Japan's exports are struggling due to slumping China-bound shipments of chips and steel.

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Persons: Vidya Ranganathan, Eddie Wu, Christine Lagarde, Jerome Powell, What's, Joe Biden, Xi Jinping, England's Randall Kroszner, ECB's Christine Lagarde, Luis de Guindos, Fed's Loretta Mester, John Williams, Michael Barr, Jacqueline Wong Organizations: Vidya, Walmart, Body, Insider Intelligence, U.S, Bank, Events, Applied Materials, Siemens, SQM, Thomson Locations: U.S, Asia, China, San Francisco, Bath, France