European stocks may open on a cautious note Monday ahead of a busy week of central bank meetings in the United States, Britain and Japan. <\/p>\n
The highly anticipated Federal Reserve interest-rate decision is due on Wednesday, with no change expected. <\/p>\n
Traders expect the Bank of Japan to tweak its yield curve control policy when it wraps up a two-day policy meeting on Tuesday. <\/p>\n
The Bank of England is to hold its penultimate meeting of the year on Thursday, with economists anticipating a ‘status quo policy update.’<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Israel stepped up ground attacks on Hamas targets in Gaza but held back from a full-on incursion, helping ease fears of a wider Middle East conflict involving regional superpower Iran and its proxies in Lebanon, Syria and Iraq. <\/p>\n
Asian shares traded mixed in cautious trade as investors await cues from global reports on manufacturing and service sector activity.<\/p>\n
Japan’s Nikkei index was down over 1 percent as new poll surveys showed dwindling support for Prime Minister Fumio Kishida despite the announcement of tax rebates and handouts to help ease the impact of inflation.<\/p>\n
U.S. earnings also remain on investors’ radar, with Apple, Airbnb, McDonald’s, Moderna and Eli Lilly & Co among the prominent companies due to report their results this week. <\/p>\n
Quarterly national accounts and flash inflation figures from the euro area are due later in the day, headlining a busy day for the European economic news.<\/p>\n
The dollar held steady in Asian trade and gold traded slightly weak above the $2,000 mark, while oil prices fell over 1 percent after ending 3 percent higher on Friday.<\/p>\n
U.S. stocks ended mixed on Friday but notched weekly losses on fears of a recession and interest rates staying higher for longer. <\/p>\n
The Dow fell 1.1 percent to hit a seven-month low and the S&P 500 dropped half a percent to reach a five-month closing low after data showed both inflation and consumer spending rose in September. <\/p>\n
The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite edged up 0.4 percent after Amazon trounced analysts’ expectations for Q3 revenue and earnings. <\/p>\n
European stocks closed lower on Friday amid concerns about the earnings and growth outlook. <\/p>\n
The pan European STOXX 600 dropped 0.8 percent. The German DAX eased 0.3 percent, France’s CAC 40 shed 1.4 percent and the U.K.’s FTSE 100 declined 0.9 percent. <\/p>\n