European stocks soft after Nikkei slide Thursday 08:00 BST. Stocks are on the back foot as caution over how the market will perform should the Federal Reserve begin reducing stimulus, appears to counteract recent better economic news. The FTSE Eurofirst 300 is opening with a 0.2 per cent loss after another slide in Tokyo hit sentiment in Asia. US index futures suggest Wall Street's S&P 500 will shed 3 points to 1,682, not helped by a poorly-received earnings report by IT services and equipment group Cisco. The euro is up 33 pips to $1.3288, supported by news this week that the single currency bloc has emerged from an 18-month recession. That was the latest in a series of recent data - including better than forecast reports from the UK, US and China - which together paint a picture of improving global economic health. Such news had helped global stocks flirt with fresh five year highs and pushed the S&P 500 to a record level at the start of August. Industrial commodities had bounced, too. But the rally has struggled to maintain momentum over the past several sessions as those hopes for stronger economic growth has pushed interest rates higher and raised expectations that the era of central bank largesse - considered by some a crucial prop to asset values - is entering its final phase. According to a Reuters, almost two-thirds of economists it surveyed thought the Federal Reserve will taper its bond purchase programme in September. Bond prices have been falling, forcing borrowing costs implied by US, German and UK benchmarks to flirt with multi-month highs, a trend that is causing wariness among some equity bulls. On Thursday, the 10-year Bund yield is up 1 basis point to 1.81 per cent, equivalent gilts are adding 1bp to 2.65 per cent. Ten-year Treasuries are fractionally softer at 2.70 per cent as traders prepare for US consumer prices data due for release at 1330 BST. Benign producer price numbers published on Wednesday had encouraged chatter that signs of disinflation could help the Fed stay its hand on any tapering, so the CPI will be keenly watched for any further guidance in that regard. The dollar may be particularly sensitive to the data, and it is broadly softer in the current session, with the trade-weighted index off 0.2 per cent. Part of the reason is yen strength. The buck is slipping 0.4 per cent to Y97.73 after Finance Minister Taro Aso denied that Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was considering a corporate tax cut - a rumour that had originally weakened the yen. The Nikkei newspaper reported on Tuesday that Mr Abe had called for a panel to investigate the possibility of cutting the corporate tax rate to compensate for economic damage that could result from going ahead with a planned increase in the consumption tax. The news spurred a two-day rally of nearly 4 per cent for the Tokyo stock market, so Mr Aso's denial has left the Nikkei 225 down 2.1 per cent. Sentiment across the region was also soured by Wall Street's soft handover, leaving China's Shanghai Composite down 0.6 per cent and Hong Kong's Hang Seng slipping 0.1 per cent. South Korea was closed for a holiday. In commodities, the overall market's risk aversion is having an impact, pushing copper down 0.4 per cent from its two-month high to $3.33 a pound. The unrest in Egypt is raising fears about oil supply, forcing Brent crude up 32 cents to $110.52, its most expensive since the start of April. Additional reporting by