European stocks may open a tad higher on Monday despite persistent inflation and geopolitical concerns. <\/p>\n
Asian markets<\/span> were broadly lower, though Chinese shares climbed as traders returned to their desks after a week-long holiday for the Lunar New Year. <\/p>\n Covid-19 worries returned to haunt investors, with Japan scrambling to curb the spread of the now dominant Omicron variant of the coronavirus<\/span>. <\/p>\n Geopolitical tensions were also in focus, with the White House warning Russia could invade Ukraine any day.<\/p>\n On the other hand, French President Emmanuel Macron, who flies to Moscow today in a risky diplomatic move and will travel to Kyiv on Tuesday, is optimistic he can secure peace.<\/p>\n The dollar edged up as expectations of higher interest rates lifted bond yields. <\/p>\n After a strong U.S. jobs report, investors are now bracing for five rate hikes in 2022. In Europe, European Central Bank (ECB) Governing Council Member Klaas Knot said he expects a hike in the fourth quarter of 2022.<\/p>\n Gold hit a more than one-week high, as surging oil prices along with an increase in global commodity prices added to existing inflationary pressures. <\/p>\n U.S. inflation data for January is due on Thursday and a strong reading could help consolidate expectations of a 50bp hike by the Federal Reserve.<\/p>\n A private survey showed earlier today that activity in China’s services sector expanded at the slowest pace in five months in January. <\/p>\n U.S. stocks rose broadly on Friday, as investors reacted to a slew of upbeat earnings updates and a much stronger-than-expected January jobs report that lifted yields and added to the risk of an aggressive tightening by the Federal Reserve.<\/p>\n The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite rallied 1.6 percent on the back of strong earnings news from Amazon and the S&P 500 rose half a percent, while the Dow slipped marginally.<\/p>\n U.S. employment jumped by 467,000 jobs in January compared to economist estimates for an increase of 150,000 jobs while the jobless rate inched up to 4.0 percent from 3.9 percent.<\/p>\n The increase in employment in December was upwardly revised to 510,000 jobs compared to the previously reported 199,000 jobs.<\/p>\n European stocks fell on Friday amid concerns about looming interest rate hikes. <\/p>\n The pan European Stoxx 600 dropped 1.4 percent. The German DAX gave up 1.8 percent, France’s CAC 40 index shed 0.8 percent and the U.K.’s FTSE 100 slipped 0.2 percent. <\/p>\n