European Shares Seen Lower As Investors Weigh Geopolitical Tensions

European stocks may open on a cautious note Tuesday as investors weigh geopolitical tensions and the prospect of more U.S. interest rate hikes.

China’s top diplomat, Wang Yi, is due to arrive in Moscow today on the one-year anniversary of its invasion of Ukraine, a day after U.S. President Joe Biden made a surprise visit to Ukraine to see President Zelenskiy.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned China against providing “lethal support” for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and condemned the latest North Korean missile launch.

Asian markets were broadly lower as investors digested weak economic indicators from Japan and Australia and waited for cues from the Fed’s meeting minutes, due on Wednesday.

The U.S. core personal consumption expenditure (PCE) data, the Fed’s preferred inflation measure, due later this week is also on investors’ radar.

The dollar index held firm, denting bullion’s appeal. Oil prices fell over 1 percent on concerns that further increases in interest rates may weigh on global growth.

Finnish central bank chief Olli Rehn told a German newspaper that the European Central Bank should keep raising interest rates beyond March and the rate peak could be reached over the summer.

The U.S. markets were closed on Monday for Presidents Day holiday.

European stocks ended narrowly mixed on Monday after a choppy day of trading. The pan-European STOXX 600 ended flat with a positive bias.

The German DAX finished marginally lower and France’s CAC 40 index eased 0.2 percent while the U.K.’s FTSE 100 inched up 0.1 percent.

Source: Read Full Article