Frankfurt

THE European Central Bank could signal greater optimism for the eurozone at a meeting on Thursday, but will remain tight-lipped about plans for winding down its massive support to the economy, analysts predict.

With a transatlantic trade war looming and a populist surge in Italy's Sunday elections that shadowed the major eurozone economy with uncertainty, ECB President Mario Draghi is unlikely to rock the boat with talk of higher interest rates or cuts to its "quantitative easing" bond-buying programme.