U.S. financial markets are closed Thursday in honor of former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, who died in late December at age 100. A state funeral for the country’s 39th president is taking place today. European stocks were slightly higher on Thursday as global markets focused on the inflation outlook. The pan-European Stoxx 600 index was last trading 0.09% higher at 10:31 a.m. London time after a choppy start to the day. Retail stocks fell around 2.03%, while mining stocks added 1.81%. Major regional bourses were last mixed, with the U.K.’s FTSE 100 trading 0.63% higher while Germany’s DAX was 0.13% lower. The inflation outlook in the U.S., Asia and Europe takes center stage this week, with markets being buffeted by concerns about persistent inflationary pressures. Minutes released from the Fed’s December meeting showed nearly all the FOMC’s members believed upside risks to the inflation outlook had increased, adding to investors’ concerns that there may be fewer rate cuts than expected this year. Asia-Pacific markets tumbled Thursday in a choppy session as investors fretted the Federal Reserve could delay policy easing due to inflation worries, while China’s entrenched consumer disinflation further dented sentiment. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index dipped 0.13% as of final hour of trade, while mainland China’s CSI 300 dropped 0.25% to close at 3,779.8773. Economists at Barclays expect the CPI to stay low for longer and PPI to remain in deflation throughout 2025, they said in a note after the data release, while cutting the full-year inflation forecast to 0.4% due to a lack of demand-side stimulus, looming tariff hikes and structural headwinds. Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 slipped 0.94% to finish at 39,605.09 and the Topix fell 1.23% to 2,735.92. The Japanese yen strengthened slightly to 158.05 against the U.S. dollar, recovering from the five-month low on Wednesday. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 lost 0.24% to close at 8,329.2. South Korea’s Kospi index advanced marginally to 2,521.9 after a volatile session and the small-cap Kosdaq gained 0.54% to 723.52. Oil prices fell on Thursday, extending losses from the previous day, pressured by large builds in U.S. fuel inventories last week, though concerns over tighter supplies from OPEC members and Russia capped the decline. Brent crude futures fell 28 cents, or 0.4%, to $75.88 a barrel by 0125 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures dropped 30 cents, or 0.4%, to $73.02. Both benchmarks lost more than 1% on Wednesday, as a stronger dollar and a bigger-than-expected rise in U.S. fuel stockpiles weighed on prices. Gold prices retreated on Thursday on profit-booking after hitting a near four-week peak in the last session, while focus shifted to jobs report due on Friday for clarity on the Federal Reserve’s 2025 interest rate path. Spot gold eased 0.1% to $2,659.62 per ounce, as of 0353 GMT. U.S. gold futures rose 0.2% to $2,678.30.