European stock futures signal gains ahead of ECB

European stock index fixtures pointed to a higher open on Thursday (December 8), as investors bet on a rate cut from the European Central Bank and on a decisive plan to fight the euro zone debt crisis at this week’s EU summit.

By 0701 GMT, futures for Euro STOXX 50, for Germany’s DAX and for France’s CAC were up 0.9-1.1 percent.

“The expectation for the EU summit are sky-high. We have great expectations and therefore I am hopeful that we will see some steps towards the right decision, otherwise it will get worse, said Robert Halver, a trader with the Baader Bank. “There is a clear and present danger. If there is no solution at the EU summit to solve the European debt crisis we will have massive downgrades for the whole euro zone, then the eurozone crisis is at full speed”, Halver continued.

European leaders are gearing up for a ‘battle royale’ over changes to the EU’s treaty at a summit starting on Thursday as they seek to forge deeper integration in the euro zone and turn the tide of the debt crisis.

Competing visions are on offer about how to modify the Lisbon treaty, with France and Germany taking one line and European Council President Herman Van Rompuy another. In between, several member states have concerns about both views.

The ability of the euro zone to plot a path to closer economic integration, and in the process persuade financial

markets that the currency project can survive, depends on whether leaders can reach a meaningful consensus at the summit scheduled to end on Friday.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy agree that several changes to the EU treaty, which took eight years to negotiate, are needed to enforce stricter budget rules in euro zone states and prevent any future debt crisis.