Before the European and US markets open, the Reserve Bank of India is expected to announce its monetary policy decision at 10 a.m. in Mumbai Thursday (0430 GMT Thursday/11:30 p.m. EST Wednesday). The RBI is expected to stand pat for a sixth meeting in a row, leaving its policy rate unchanged at 6.50 percent to guide inflation within its 2 to 6 percent target range. Consume inflation continued accelerating to 5.69 percent in December from 5.55 percent in November.

In the US, new jobless claims for the February 3 are expected to come in at 222,000 versus 224,000 in the prior week.

The second estimate for December wholesale inventories is for a 0.4 percent build which would be unchanged from the first estimate.

Richmond Federal Reserve Bank President Thomas Barkin is scheduled to appear on Bloomberg TV at 8 a.m. EST (1300 GMT). He will also speak before the Economic Club of New York at 11:30 a.m. EST (1630 GMT).

Market Focus details key factors in the coming day that will impact the economic outlook and the financial markets. These include central bank events, economic indicators, policymaker speeches as well as expected political and corporate developments.

Keeping up-to-date with event schedules and the economic calendar is key to understanding the global financial system. Econoday's Market Focus allows investors and policymakers to carefully track what will be making news and moving the financial markets in the coming day.